Snow Returns to Turkey; Flooding Threatens Iran, Iraq

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

March 20,2015; 8:59PM,EDT

 

Despite spring starting, another round of snow is targeting Turkey as the risk of flooding downpours heightens across the Middle East.
Snow will develop and spread across Turkey this weekend with the heaviest accumulations and most disruptions to travel targeting the eastern half of the country.
Amounts in excess of 15 cm (6 inches) will bury the mountains that separate Konya from Erzincan. In addition to causing treacherous travel, the heavy and wet nature of the snow can lead to downed trees and power outages.
Rain will initially fall in the lower elevations of Erzincan and Erzurum, but a change to snow will occur as colder air plunges in.

"Despite the calendar saying spring, snow will fall heavily enough from Ezrurum to Erzincan to cover roads and cause difficult travel," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Adam Douty.
Konya and Ankara will escape the steadiest snow, but enough snow to whiten these cities will still fall. Outside of any heavier burst, the snow that falls during the day here will have trouble sticking to roads and other paved surfaces due to the stronger March sun.
RELATED:
Turkey Weather Center
Detailed Forecast for Kuwait City, Kuwait
PHOTOS: Rare Total Solar Eclipse, Supermoon Delight Stargazers as Spring Commences
Unlike other cold and snowy storms that targeted Turkey this winter, the storm this weekend will not cause snowflakes to fly in Istanbul. Periods of chilly rain will instead start the weekend.
Sunshine and milder air will return to Istanbul on Sunday as the storm tracks eastward. More snow will fall across eastern Turkey to end the weekend as rain and even thunderstorms return to the Middle East.

Enough rain could fall to trigger flash flooding. That is especially true where rain from Friday left the ground saturated.
"A southerly flow to the south of the storm is pulling moisture northward from central Africa and the Red Sea. That will lead to locally flooding downpours from Iran into western Iraq," Douty continued.
Dezful in Iran, Basrah in Iraq and Kuwait City in Kuwait are among the communities that could become targeted by the flooding downpours.