Although ongoing snowfall in many parts of Turkey has disrupted everyday life, it brings joy to children who play in the snow. 

Harsh winter weather and snowfall have been making life difficult across the nation since the weekend, with snow and ice blocking access to 886 eastern villages even as some areas see snow for the first time in decades.

 

In eastern Anatolia, where harsh winter weather conditions last for months each year, the snowy weather that has complicated daily life for weeks persisted through the weekend. An area of particular concern has been villages that are unreachable due to snow and ice blocking roads between them and the city. In Erzurum, 336 village roads were blocked, with more such instances in Bingöl (243 village roads blocked), Kars (111), Muş (90), Erzincan (75) and Ardahan (31).

 

Snowy weather was also forecast for Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean regions on Monday night. The snowfall in Turkey's East is expected to continue throughout the week and may grow heavier on Friday headed into the weekend, meteorological officials said.

The coldest temperatures in the East on Sunday night were in Ardahan (-17 degrees Celsius), Kars (-15), Erzurum (-12), Ağrı (-8) and Erzincan (-2).

 

Municipal teams are working to clear the blocked village roads throughout the country and to spread salt on them. Despite these efforts, motorists are encountering difficulty as roads ice in the face of the fierce weather. Meteorologists say a warmer weather front is on its way and that temperatures may rise slightly on Tuesday as a result.

 

Snowfall hits İstanbul

 

İstanbul saw intermittent snowfall throughout the weekend, particularly on Sunday and extending into midday Monday. İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality snowplows worked without pause in some areas to clear the roads.

 

Particularly at higher elevations, in places such as Maslak and Çamlıca, snowfall was heavy and blanketed the ground and rooftops in white on Sunday, lasting through Monday morning. Motorists were warned to exercise extra caution when driving, and municipal vehicles spread salt on the roads at half-hour intervals.

 

It has been 22 years since Muğla's Marmaris district last saw snow. Officials from the Marmaris Meteorology Bureau said the heavy snowfall, occurring mostly at high altitudes, reached a depth of five centimeters. The last time snow fell in Marmaris was in February 1987. Officials warned that motorists traveling along the Marmaris-Turunç road should exercise extra caution. Last week, snow fell for the first time in years anywhere in Muğla, in Yılanlı, Göktepe and Fethiye's Seki district.

 

Winter sports favorite Uludağ sees heavy snowfall

 

In Uludağ, one of the country's most important tourism centers, snowfall has reached a depth of two-and-a-half meters, with rainy and snowy weather expected to continue intermittently until the weekend.

 

The heavy snowfall is a 20 percent increase over the amount of snow at the same time last year. Uludağ Meteorology Station officials say that on Sunday night the temperatures fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius in the area, while daytime temperatures are expected to hover around minus 1 degree Celsius.

 

The extreme cold temperatures increase icing on the roads, so motorists should exercise extra caution, the officials said. On Monday the weather was sunny in the area, with tourists and winter sports enthusiasts frolicking in the snow, but a new round of snowfall was forecast for the evening. Visibility in the area can sometimes fall to less than 100 meters because of fog that descends with the snowy weather.