March 12 (UPI) -- A highly disruptive storm slowly pushed across Turkey and hampered day-to-day operations across portions of the country in recent days.
Flight cancellations and road closures mounted across the country this week, and AccuWeather forecasters say even more snow could be on the way.
"The storm brought with it a plethora of cold, Arctic air, allowing for the widespread snow across Greece and Turkey," said AccuWeather meteorologist Tony Zartman.
Several inches of snow spread across northwestern Turkey, including in Istanbul. The city's mayor, Ekrem Ä°mamoÄŸlu, announced preparations well ahead of the storm, saying city officials had stockpiled 220,000 tons of salt to help treat roads and sidewalks.
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"Every precaution was taken to prevent disruption of public transportation," Ä°mamoÄŸlu said.
While most highways remained open, travel delays across western Turkey were still reported because of the snow. In eastern Turkey, which was hit harder by this storm, travelers were not so lucky.
A total of 19 provinces had closed schools on Thursday, and hundreds of villages in eastern and southeastern Turkey were cut off from others as snow covered the roads.
The storm also forced more than 200 flights in and out of Istanbul to be canceled on Wednesday and Thursday. Another 50 flights were canceled again on Friday. On Saturday, the number rose once again to hit more than 160 canceled flights.
These flight delays come less than two months after the Istanbul Airport was forced to close for two days when a major winter storm hit the city in late January. The January snowstorm brought over a foot of snow to much of the city, forced school closures, caused transportation nightmares and resulted in at least one death in Turkey.
Istanbul Airport, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil KaraismailoÄŸlu said in a press conference that additional measures were put in place following the January storm to help ensure that the airport would run more smoothly as this storm approached.
ccuWeather meteorologists warn that more wintry weather is expected across Turkey through the weekend.
"The storm is forecast to track across the southern coast of Turkey on Saturday, bringing snow to much of the country. The heaviest is likely [to fall] in central and eastern Turkey," said AccuWeather Senior meteorologist Tyler Roys.
Roys also noted that gusty winds are expected to spread through northwestern Turkey behind the storm, near Istanbul, helping to create sea-effect snow in the region on top of the snow that has already fallen. This snow could last through the end of the weekend and allow snow accumulations of more than 8 inches.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey warned that a total of 37 provinces, aside from Istanbul, could be at risk for the snow through the weekend.
