Most of Turkey, except for the western regions, is grappling with a snowy spell as inclement weather last week continues this week as well. More than 1,600 roads that connect villages and small towns were closed on Tuesday due to heavy snowfall and blizzards.
In the eastern provinces of Erzurum, Iğdır, Ağrı, Erzincan and Tunceli, 536 roads linking villages to each other and central, urban parts of provinces were snowed in. Snowplows are working around the clock to keep the roads operational but ongoing precipitation thwarts the efforts.
In the central province of Sivas, 629 villages were cutoff from the outside world when their roads were blanketed with thick snow, making travel impossible. The main road connecting Sivas to the province of Tokat was also closed for truck traffic due to snowfall, while truck drivers stranded on the road were diverted to nearby gas stations, awaiting reopening.
Authorities announced that access to 37 villages and small towns were also cutoff in Van, Hakkari, Muş and Bitlis which are known for harsh winters.
Though snowfall and cold weather were more prevalent in the eastern regions, Bolu in the north was the coldest province in the country on Monday night, with temperatures at minus 20.6 degrees Celsius (minus 5.08 degrees Fahrenheit). Hakkari’s Yüksekova district was the second coldest place at minus 20.2 degrees Celsius (minus 4.36 degrees Fahrenheit).
On Tuesday, Turkish State Meteorological Services (TSMS) issued alerts for 47 provinces over adverse weather conditions. Western provinces will be exposed to a weather system characterized by sporadic rainfall while the snowfall will grip several eastern provinces from Tunceli to Adıyaman, according to TSMS. It also warned against the avalanche risk in mountainous areas in the eastern Black Sea region and the northern and eastern parts of the Eastern Anatolia.
