A much-anticipated snowfall gripped Istanbul Thursday, blanketing the European and Asian sides of the metropolis. It is expected to continue until Monday with temperatures fluctuating below zero degrees Celsius (below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Unlike a similar cold spell in January, which brought life to a halt in Turkey's most crowded city, the rain did not affect daily life, at least for Thursday.
Roads were clear in most places while traffic density during morning rush hour was far below usual in the city notorious for long traffic jams. Most people preferred mass transit, ditching their cars, apparently out of fear of being stranded for hours on major highways, as was the case during January's snowstorms, which trapped hundreds of motorists along the E-5 and TransEuropean Motorway (TEM).
Blizzards accompanied the snowfall in some districts, while traffic slowed down in districts on higher ground, particularly on the European side. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's (IBB) crews poured salt on the roads to prevent icing, one of the causes of traffic snarls in January's chaos.
The governorate announced earlier that schools will remain closed until Monday, while most public officials were put on administrative leave, helping to reduce traffic. The Istanbul Governorate later announced that all trucks and similar heavy vehicles were banned from traffic starting on Thursday, while trucks traveling to the city were not allowed inside for hours. Trucks stranded on major highways are among the causes of worsening traffic. The governorate later reversed its decision based on the weather forecast and announced that trucks would be allowed into Istanbul "in a controlled manner." Motorcycles, gig couriers and e-scooters were banned from traffic upon governorate’s orders starting from 7 p.m. local time on Thursday.
In the far-off district of Arnavutköy, thick snow covering the roads challenged big vehicles and spelled trouble for companies' shuttle buses. In some places, passengers abandoned shuttle buses to reach their workplaces on foot, while some buses operated by the IBB were trapped on the roads as the drivers could not advance on icy routes. The traffic was also evident in Mahmutbey, a usually busy section of the TEM highway, which already has the infamy of one of the worst places with traffic congestion.
Aviation traffic was hit hardest in the city. Turkish Airlines (THY) and its budget subsidiary AnadoluJet announced 205 flights were canceled on Thursday. Some 213 more flights scheduled for Friday were also canceled from Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport, local news agencies reported.
At Istanbul Airport, the flight rate was "reduced by 30%," according to Demirören News Agency (DHA), while the airport remained open, with crews applying de-icing on airplanes on the runway. The airport plans to allow all landings and takeoffs when visibility is high.
Warning for other cities
The bad weather is also expected to affect 37 other provinces, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) warned, urging citizens to remain cautious amid the precipitation, from the Eastern Mediterranean to the capital Ankara, from Izmir in the west to far corners of eastern Anatolia.
Some provinces were already hit by snowfall and precipitation since the start of this week, while schools were closed on Thursday in 19 provinces due to snowfall. Hundreds of villages in eastern and southeastern Turkey were cut off from others as snow covered the roads.