Turkey flooding
© Daily News / Hasan ALTINIŞIKBad weather has affected life in Istanbul, with increasing accidents and heavy traffic snarling the city’s motorways.
After weeks of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, a cold snap from the Balkans arrived in Turkey accompanied by rain, sleet and snow. The strong storms caused flooding in the Aegean province of Aydın that killed one person and left two others missing Friday.

Bad weather has affected life in Istanbul, with increasing accidents and heavy traffic snarling the city's motorways. Some airplane flights and ferries scheduled to operate Friday have been canceled as a consequence of the weather.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service, or DMİ, forecasts rainy weather for the western Marmara sea, Black sea, southern Aegean and Mediterranean regions of the country, while the eastern Marmara region, including Istanbul, Sakarya and Kocaeli provinces, the Aegean, Göller, Anatolian and western Black Sea regions are expected to receive snow.

Northeasterly winds will reach speeds of between 50 and 70 kilometers per hour, according to DMİ's weather forecast, with reports also circulating that winds in Anatolian and northwestern regions were expected to reach speeds of between 30 and 40 kilometers per hour. The service also warned of storms in Turkey's seas.

Floodwaters killed a 20-year-old woman in the Aegean province of Aydın on Friday after a creek overflowed and swept away her car, Anatolia news agency reported. Two other passengers were dragged away by the floodwater. Rescue efforts were under way Friday afternoon to find the missing passengers.

Rainfall will continue through Sunday in the eastern Marmara, eastern Mediterranean and eastern Black Sea coastal regions, as well as in southeastern Anatolia, while other regions are expected to receive snow, DMİ reported on its website Friday.

Sleety weather and chaos in Istanbul

Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in many streets around Istanbul, with segments of road from the district of Beylikdüzü to the district of Avcılar becoming blocked Friday morning. A road accident in Avcılar caused by bad weather also contributed to worsening traffic conditions.

Violent weather has caused property damage in Istanbul, with heavy rain and strong winds uprooting an electricity pylon in the district of Eyüp, while the roof of a house in Fatih was torn off and thrown into the air, according to a CNNTürk report Friday.

Temperatures dropped dramatically in Istanbul, with some areas recording an immediate fall between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. "There will be sleety and snowy weather in Istanbul over the weekend," Istanbul's Regional Meteorological Director Mustafa Yıldırım was quoted as saying in an Anatolia news agency report Friday.

Temperatures have plummeted to below seasonal averages, Yıldırım said, adding that temperatures for Saturday could be expected to be as low as 1 degree Celsius.