BEIRUT (AP) – Snow covered parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel on Wednesday, covering areas it has not reached in years, disrupting traffic and postponing COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and even exams in some universities.
It snowed for the first time in years in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, and Bayda, in northeastern Libya.
Stormy winds blew down electricity in vast parts of Lebanon and forced many Lebanese, already accustomed to power outages, to rely on generators for longer hours. Rescuers pulled four motorists from their snow-covered cars, the National News Agency said.
The first snow this winter in the Syrian capital, Damascus, did not stop the Premier League football tournament from going ahead, as the Army Sports Club and Al-Karamah clashed despite the snow covering the playing field, the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported.
In the mountains of Sweida province, Syria, snow was up to 15 cm (6 inches), according to the official state news agency SANA. Roads in some provinces were blocked. In the central province of Hama, excavators dragged snow to open roads while vehicles skated on ice, causing traffic disruption.
The University of Damascus called off intermediate exams scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at all of its Syrian branches due to extreme weather conditions. The country’s ports remained open. Later, local authorities in Sweida, Quneitra, Daraa and Tartous provinces will suspend school on Thursday due to the storm and heavy snowfall.
In northwestern Syria, opposed to the opposition, civil defense teams have been building mounds of earth around IDP camps since Tuesday to prevent rain from flooding crowded areas. About 3 million displaced people live in northwestern Syria, mostly in tents and temporary shelters. Last month’s heavy rainfall damaged more than 190 travel sites and destroyed more than 10,000 tents.
In neighboring Lebanon, Hurricane Joyce struck on Tuesday afternoon with high winds ranging between 85 km / h (52 mph) and 100 km / h (62 mph). The storm is expected to intensify on Thursday.
Breaking a warm period, the storm caused heavy rainfall, a sharp drop in temperatures and the most intense snow in Lebanon this year. According to the meteorological department, the snow is expected to cover areas of altitudes of up to 400 meters. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon were closed to traffic due to snow. A club and a restaurant on the beach submerged in the water as waves nearly 4 feet high crashed against the shore.
The Israeli Meteorological Service predicted strong storms and cold temperatures in much of the country, with snowfall forecasts at higher altitudes later Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. On Wednesday night, Israeli police closed the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem due to snow.
Heavy snowfall covered the heights of the Golan, annexed by Israel, near the border with Syria.
In Jordan, the vaccine against COVID-19 was suspended due to severe weather conditions. Schools and universities also postpone classes. Jordan’s Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh has announced that Thursday will be an official holiday for both the public and private sectors due to the snowstorm.
Osama al-Tarifi, director of the Saudi Weather operating room, said snow has reached 20 cm (8 inches) in the Ajloun Mountains in northern Jordan, where snowfall has been uninterrupted since the night of Tuesday. Heavy snow is expected in the capital, Amman, on Wednesday.
Winds exceeded 100 km / h (62 miles / h) in some areas of Jordan.
In Libya, snow covered the mountains in the northeast of the country, as snowfall continued from Tuesday, covering forests and roads in some areas of the North African country.
Residents of the Jabal al-Akhdar area, in the northeastern tip of Libya, took their children for fun, some making snowmen and others starting snowball fights.
“I was actually surprised by the number of families who came here to take pictures to remember the snow,” said Ali al-Shairi, an amateur photographer from the eastern city of Bayda, known for recurring snow in Libya, but i haven’t seen any for a couple of years.
In neighboring Egypt, heavy rains and wind prevailed on Wednesday and are expected to last on Thursday, the country’s weather agency reported. Authorities in the southern Sinai province, which includes resorts, canceled tourist activities, including safaris and cruises to weather the storm.
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The writers of the Associated Press, Omar Akour, in Amman, Jordan; Samy Magdy in Cairo; and Isaac Scharf and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.