Türkiye’s central provinces, the Black Sea region and northwestern areas received rains and snow along with a drop in temperature on Wednesday morning while the Turkish State Meteorology Service (TSMS) forecast suggested snow could be effective across 22 provinces later during the day.

The capital Ankara, which saw downpours effective since Tuesday, was covered in snow, especially the elevated parts of the city such as Dikmen and Incek.

Municipality teams are working at main routes to avoid traffic disruptions as the snowfall is expected to continue throughout the day in Ankara, reported Anadolu Agency (AA).

Snow depths reached some 10 centimeters (3.93 inches) in the northern regions of the country, particularly the central districts of Samsun, where overnight rain gradually turned into ice. High snow precipitation was recorded at the Ladik Akdağ Ski Center as the snow depths increased to 30 centimeters. Snowfall continued during the night in the Başçiftlik district of Tokat, another province in the Black Sea region, where the parks, gardens and rooftops of houses were all covered in white.

Meanwhile, higher altitude areas of the central province of Eskişehir were covered with snow as temperatures dropped over the last two days there as well.

Snowfall was also witnessed in the Bolu Mountain section of the Anatolian Highway and D-100 highway. However, no report of traffic disruption was received at the moment.

Late March snow turned into a wintry spell at the Abant Junction, Bolu Mountain Tunnel and viaducts section of the Anatolian Highway and at Yumrukaya, Bakacak, Parlakdere and Seymenler locations, as per AA reports. It was noted that highway maintenance teams are working on snow shoveling and salinating roads in order to avoid traffic snurls.

Traffic teams, on the other hand, warned drivers to proceed carefully on roads and not to exceed recommended driving speeds.

Snowfall is showing its effect on the Inegöl section of the Bursa-Ankara highway as well, while especially in the Mezitler location, the precipitation intensified from time to time. It was stated that the teams of the 14th Regional Directorate of Highways are working on salinating this location.

The rain, which started in Istanbul on Tuesday, turned into ice in elevated parts of Kartal Aydos Forest on the Anatolian part and continued in intervals in the districts of Beykoz and Ümraniye. On the European part, snowfall was effective in the morning in the elevated parts of Çatalca, Büyükçekmece, Arnavutköy and Başakşehir. Authorities urged locals in the region to be cautious against catastrophes such as floods, and heavy snowfall leading to disruption in transportation.

Sakarya, a province east of Istanbul, was also hit by snowfall in districts on higher ground, whereas intensified snowfall was also registered in the rural areas of the western province of Izmir. At the same time, the snow blanketed first spring blossoms across several provinces including Afyonkarahisar in the Aegean region.

Officials of the 5th Regional Directorate of Meteorology reported that the precipitation in the city is expected to continue until late Wednesday evening. Officials from the regional directorate noted that the temperature is expected to drop to minus 9 degrees Celsius (15.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city center and to minus 12 degrees Celsius in the surrounding districts.

Authorities also warned farmers on the risk of agricultural frost for the next two nights in the region.