April weather brings unseasonal snow, cold snap across Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Nearly all of Türkiye’s 81 provinces were caught off guard as they awoke to a deluge of rain on April 7, with some regions even blanketed in unexpected snowfall, putting a damper on the hopes for the sunny and warm spring days that many had eagerly anticipated.

Meteorological authorities reported that starting from April 7, temperatures started to drop by 4 to 10 degrees below seasonal norms nationwide.

The cold and rainy weather moving in from the Balkans is set to affect the country, with temperatures in western regions falling 4-6 degrees below normal, while other areas will experience an 8-10 degree drop.

Snow mixed with rain and snowfall is anticipated, particularly in higher elevations and the northern, central and eastern regions.

The cold weather will persist in the west until the weekend and affect other regions until the beginning of next week.

Furthermore, there is a risk of agricultural frost in southeastern Marmara, the Aegean’s inner parts and central Anatolia, according to the meteorological forecast.

The lowest temperatures are expected to be minus 2 degrees Celsius in the capital Ankara, 2 degrees Celsius in Istanbul and 5 degrees Celsius in the western province of İzmir.

As of April 7, the districts of Keşan in Edirne, located near the Bulgarian border, and neighboring villages were blanketed in snow, while light snowfall began in the city center early in the morning.

Local media reported snowfall in other Thracian provinces, Tekirdağ and Kırklareli, with attention now turning to whether the approaching precipitation will affect Istanbul.

Private TV channel CNN Türk indicated that the northern and higher areas of Istanbul might experience heavy rainfall, occasionally mixed with snow. However, any wet snow in the highlands is not expected to persist.

Meanwhile, the famously cold city of Kars and its neighboring province of Ardahan began the week with snowfall as well.