By Adam Douty, Meteorologist
February 10,2015; 8:54PM,EST
An unusually cold storm will continue to impact the nations surrounding the eastern Mediterranean Sea, unloading rain, snow and strong winds.
The storm is responsible for unusual snowflakes in Athens, Greece, and causing snow to whiten Istanbul, Turkey.
Snow will continue to pile up across Turkey through Wednesday with almost blizzard conditions in the nation's northwestern corner. Along the southern fringe of the storm, windswept rain will spread from far northeastern Libya to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The unusual wet snow began flying in Athens Tuesday morning with additional wet snow to follow into the night. Outside of the mountains, the snow will struggle to accumulate due to marginal temperatures.
(Instagram Photo/Bevetia M.)Snow, on the other hand, is already coating Istanbul with the most substantial snow targeting the city's eastern half. Snow totals through Wednesday will range from up to 2 cm (an inch) from western parts of the city to 15-30 cm (6-12 inches) to the east.
The highest elevations and the farther east locations of Istanbul will receive the highest snow amounts.
Substantial snow will also be widespread with accumulations in excess of 15 cm (6 inches) across western and central Turkey, including in Ankara. Harder hit areas, particularly in mountainous areas in northwestern parts of the country, will receive 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) of snow.
This will likely shut down roads, making travel impossible. Additionally, gusty winds could create snowdrifts over a meter deep (over 3 feet) and almost blizzard conditions.
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AccuWeather.com Turkey Weather Center
Detailed AccuWeather.com Forecast for Athens
Detailed AccuWeather.com Forecast for Istanbul
The gusty winds whipping the snow also threaten to cause damage in northwestern Turkey, southeastern Greece and from the coast of the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Winds will occasionally gust between 65 and 95 kph (40 and 60 mph) through Wednesday in Istanbul and Athens, as well as Tel Aviv, Israel. Winds on the lower end of this range will also whip Cairo, Egypt.
Power outages, damage to trees and other loose items, travel disruptions and blowing dust can result. The winds can also drive water from the Black Sea onto the coast in northwestern Turkey, leading to coastal flooding. This danger will be highest at midweek due to the persistent nature of the howling winds.
In addition to the snow and wind, rain will soak the Mediterranean coast from far northern Libya to southeastern Turkey.
Some of the rain will be heavy from northern Israel northward with rainfall totals of 20-50 mm (1-2 inches) expected. Locally 75 mm (3 inches) is possible.
While this will not lead to significant flooding, low-lying and poor drainage areas could experience minor flooding.
This storm will wind down by Thursday but will be slow to depart with rain and snow showers lingering through the end of the week. However, during this time, additional impacts will generally be minor.
AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski contributed to the content of this story.
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