It finally arrived. Tehran's winter snow started to fall on the capital but much sooner than expected. After days of continuous raining Tehran was suddenly clad in white. With temperatures falling to nearly zero degrees Celsius, life in Iran's most populous city suddenly changed.

This year the real winter which many expected in January has knocked on Tehran's door about two months earlier.

Meteorologists say they did expect the arrival of a cold weather mass but also admit that Iran's capital has not seen such a phenomenon in a decade.

As wash wipers failed to clear the windshields looming traffic prompts some people to look for better means of transportation.

In a city where the days with clean air are outnumbered precipitation is blessing. This is what Tehran used to look like a week before the downpours started.

Experts say that despite heavy droughts in some parts of the country in the previous summer a number of cities in Iran have experienced record numbers of down pour with the arrival of fall. This also includes Tehran.

While traffic jams and flooded streets make life difficult for the residents in some parts of Iran's capital, people still prefer to see rain clouds in the sky above instead of smog.