Late-week snow, soaking rain to target south-central Turkey

By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather meteorologist

December 21,2016, 9:50:25AM,EST

 

 

South-central Turkey will face potentially flooding rain later this week as snow threatens to make travel impossible on some mountain roads.
A slow-moving storm system will spread rounds of rain and mountain snow into south-central Turkey, in the vicinity of Mersin and Adana, into Friday.
Rain will total 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) from Cyprus to coastal Mersin Province, the lower elevations of Adana Province and surrounding areas.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty is concerned for localized amounts up to 150 mm (6 inches). The highest totals will likely be measured in the southern slopes of the eastern Taurus Mountains.

The risk of flooding and mudslides will increase with each round of rain.
In the higher elevations of the mountains, cold air plunging southward will allow substantial snow to fall.
“Snow levels in the mountains to the north of Mersin and Adana will fall to near 600-900 meters (about 2,000-3,000 feet) through Friday,” Douty said. “This will be low enough to cause snow to accumulate on many roads traversing the eastern Taurus Mountains.”
By the end of Friday, snow totals will exceed 45 cm (18 inches) in many mountain locations. Travel will become slow and difficult through the mountain passes.
“Some lesser traveled roads could become impassable,” Douty said.
RELATED:
Turkey weather center
Detailed forecast for Adana, Turkey
5 of the coldest cities in the world
The snow could cause disruptions to travel and daily routines in Karaman and Konya.
A little snow will even spread northward to coat Ankara from Thursday night into Friday.
As the winter storm slams south-central Turkey, temperatures throughout the country will be held 4-8 degrees Celsius (10-15 degrees Fahrenheit) below normal later this week.
This includes Istanbul, where gusty winds will hold AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to the lower single digits C (30s F) during the day. It is not out of the question for wet snowflakes to mix in during the heaviest rain showers the next several days.
Looking ahead to early next week, it is possible that another round of rain and mountain snow targets south-central Turkey.