There was a split of the vortex in early January and another in mid-January. Other times, it just moves to a new place, which often means bitter cold in parts of Europe. Sometimes, the cold air mass splits into chunks - an event that usually is connected to big snowstorms in the U.S. Normally such waves don´t do much to the strong vortex, but occasionally the wave has enough energy to push the spinning top over, and that´s when the frigid air breaks loose.
The polar vortex spends winter in its normal place until an atmospheric wave - the type that brings weather patterns here and there - slams into it. Meteorologists say that this particular polar vortex is one of the nastiest and largest they have seen since records began in the late 1950s. It's been happening more often, and scientists are still not completely sure why, some say it is a natural random weather pattern while others claim that it has been caused by man-made climate change. It also means that places which are normally very cold in the winter, like Alaska and Greenland, feel comparatively warmer as the shape of the polar vortex becomes warped. In neighboring Egypt, heavy rain and windy weather prevailed on Wednesday and was expected to last into Thursday, the country's meteorological agency said.Īuthorities in South Sinai province, which includes touristic hubs, canceled touristic activities, including safaris and cruises to weather the storm.ĪTHENS: The Acropolis and the Parthenon are covered in snow on Wednesday 'I was surprised, actually, 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, which is known for recurrent snow in Libya but has not seen any for a couple of years. Residents of the Jabal al-Akhdar area in the far northeast part of Libya took their children out for fun, some making snowmen and others starting snowball fights. In Libya, snow blanketed the country's northeast mountains as snowfall continued since Tuesday, covering forests and roads in some areas in the North African country. Osama al-Tarifi, director of the operating room of the Arabia Weather site, said snow has reached eight inches in the mountains of Ajloun in northern Jordan, where snowfall has been non-stop since Tuesday night. Jordan's Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh announced that Thursday will be an official holiday for both the public and private sector due to the snow storm. Schools and universities also put off classes. In Jordan, the COVID-19 vaccination drive was suspended due to severe weather conditions. Heavy snowfall covered the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria. On Wednesday night, Israeli police closed the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem due to snow. The Israeli Meteorological Service forecast heavy thunderstorms and cold temperatures across much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes expected later on Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon were closed to traffic because of the snow.Ī beachside club and restaurant were submerged in water as waves nearly 4 meters (13 feet) high slammed onto the shore. Snow is expected to cover areas of altitudes as low as 400 meters, according to the meteorological department. The storm is expected to get stronger Thursday.īreaking a warm spell, the storm brought heavy rainfall, a sharp drop in temperatures and the heaviest snow fall in Lebanon this year. In neighboring Lebanon, Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering between 52mph and 62mph. Heavy rainfall last month damaged over 190 displacement sites, destroying and damaging over 10,000 tents. Nearly 3 million displaced people live in northwestern Syria, mostly in tents and temporary shelters.
In the opposition-held northwestern Syria, civil defense teams have been building dirt mounds since Tuesday around camps for the displaced to prevent rain from flooding the crowded areas. Later, local authorities in the provinces of Sweida, Quneitra, Daraa and Tartous suspend school on Thursday due to the storm and heavy snowfall. Buldings are seen from a plane landing at the Sabiha Gokcen international airport during a heavy snowfall in Istanbul
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