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Bad weather that dumped rain, hail and snow across the country Thursday claimed three victims, as three Syrian farmers went missing when they were swept away by a overflowing river along Lebanon's northern border with Syria.

The National News Agency reported that Abdullah Rayya, Hassan Shmaisi and Walid Rayya, from the Syrian village of Maajir, were carried off by the al-Nahr al-Kabir river while riding their tractor on the Syrian side of the border in the Wadi Khaled region in Akkar.

Syrian and Lebanese authorities, along with locals, are carrying out intensive search efforts for them, the NNA added.

The heavy rainfall inflicted considerable damage to agricultural areas and closed roads and schools in mountainous areas, while residents of coastal regions experienced rare hail storms.

Also in the north, heavy rainfall accompanied by hail struck Tripoli overnight, flooding the streets of the northern city and prompting traffic jams during rush hour Thursday.

Work teams from local municipalities were put on alert and deployed in streets and neighborhoods. The storm closed ports in Tripoli and Sidon.

In northern areas, snow fell at 900 meters, while in Hasbaya, the snowfall was reported as low as 500 meters. Teams from the Transport and Public Works Ministry deployed bulldozers to open main roads, while many side roads remain closed, with schools and shops closing amid an electricity blackout.

Farmers voiced fears that the sudden drop in temperatures would damage greenhouse agriculture.

In Sidon, high waves overwhelmed a group of foreign tourists in the city's seaside citadel. The Turkish and German visitors, as well as a Korean film crew, were assisted by Sidon municipality's personnel.

The wind blew over electricity poles along Sidon's corniche, and uprooted trees in the city and its suburbs, while forcing the city's commercial and fishermen's ports to suspend activities for the third straight day.

As in prior storms, refuse from Sidon's giant waste dump was carried by waves onto the city's beach.

While it hailed heavily on Sidon's coast, snow fell at 900 meters in Jezzine. The storm also damaged agricultural crops and greenhouses in the Zahrani district and in areas to the east of Sidon.

The storm inflicted severe damage on citrus orchards and banana groves in the district of Tyre, ruining greenhouse agriculture. Rain flooded the streets of Tyre and the city's fishermen stayed at home for the third day while the commercial port remained closed.

The meteorological department at the Rafik Hariri International Airport told The Daily Star that the storm would ease by Friday evening.

According to the department, the airport's observatory recorded that this season's rainfall reached 563.2 millimeters, compared to 720.4 millimeters last year, and an annual average of 689 millimeters.