BEIRUT (AP) – Snow covered parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel on Wednesday, covering areas it had not reached in years, disrupting traffic and postponing vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 and even exams at some universities.
It snowed for the first time in years in Marjayoun, in southern Lebanon, and in Bayda, in northeastern Libya.
The gale force cut electricity in vast parts of Lebanon, forcing many Lebanese, already used to power cuts, to rely on generators for more hours. Rescuers removed four drivers from their snow-covered cars, the National News Agency said.
The first snow this winter in the Syrian capital, Damascus, did not prevent the Premier League football tournament from happening, as the Army Sports Club and Al-Karamah clashed despite the snow covering the field, reported the Syrian daily Al- Watan.
In the mountains of the Syrian province of Sweida, snow reached 15 cm (6 inches), according to the official SANA news agency. Roads in some provinces have been blocked. In central Hama province, bulldozers cleared snow to open roads while vehicles skidded across the ice, causing traffic disruptions.
The University of Damascus canceled the mid-term exams scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at all of its branches in Syria because of extreme weather conditions. The country’s ports remained open. Later, local authorities in the provinces of Sweida, Quneitra, Daraa and Tartous suspended the school on Thursday due to the storm and heavy snowfalls.
In opposition-controlled northwestern Syria, civil defense teams have been building mounds of land since Tuesday around IDP camps to prevent rain from flooding the crowded areas. Nearly 3 million displaced people live in northwest Syria, most of them in tents and temporary shelters. Heavy rains last month damaged more than 190 displacement sites, destroying and damaging more than 10,000 tents.
In neighboring Lebanon, Storm Joyce reached the end of Tuesday with strong winds registering between 85 km / h (52 miles / h) and 100 km / h (62 miles / h). The storm is expected to get stronger on Thursday.
Breaking a period of heat, the storm brought heavy rain, a sharp drop in temperatures and the biggest snowfall in Lebanon this year. Snow should cover areas at altitudes as low as 400 meters, according to the meteorological department. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon have been closed to traffic because of snow. A club and restaurant by the sea were submerged in the water when waves almost 4 meters (13 feet) high hit the shore.
The Israel Meteorological Service predicted severe storms and low temperatures in much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes expected later Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. On Wednesday night, Israeli police closed the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem due to snow.
A heavy snowfall covered the Golan Heights annexed by Israel, near the border with Syria.
In Jordan, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been suspended due to severe weather conditions. Schools and universities also postpone classes. Jordanian Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh has announced that Thursday will be an official holiday for the public and private sector due to the snowstorm.
Osama al-Tarifi, director of the operating room at Arabia Weather, said the snow had reached 20 cm (8 inches) in the Ajloun mountains in northern Jordan, where the snow has not stopped since Tuesday night. Heavy snow is expected in the capital, Amman, on Wednesday.
The wind exceeded 100 km / hour (62 miles / h) in some areas of Jordan.
In Libya, snow has covered the mountains in the north-east of the country as it has continued to snow since Tuesday, covering forests and roads in some areas of the North African country.
Residents of the Jabal al-Akhdar area, in the far northeast 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, who is known for recurring snow in Libya, but has I haven’t seen any for a few years.
In neighboring Egypt, heavy rains and strong winds prevailed on Wednesday and are expected to last until Thursday, the country’s weather agency said. Officials in South Sinai province, which includes tourist centers, canceled tourist activities, including safaris and cruises to weather the storm.
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Associated Press writers, Omar Akour, in Amman, Jordan; Samy Magdy in Cairo; and Isaac Scharf and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.