After a largely cloudy and essentially mild week, it's beginning to feel like winter has passed us by. However, through the coming week, it looks like more of us will see the return of some overnight frosts. Even then, it will be nowhere near as wintry as it has been in parts of eastern Europe.

Over the past few days a very active weather system has seen snow fall on the likes of Athens and Istanbul. The same system has now set much of the Middle East shivering!

Snow blanketed much of the region, including Jordan, Israel, and parts of the Lebanon. 2-3 cm (around an inch) of snow lay across the streets of Jerusalem, while the overnight temperature in the Jordanian capital fell below freezing. The average February minimum here is 4 C (39 F).

Although these sorts of conditions are not unheard of in these parts, the snow still brought with it the usual disruption. Power lines collapsed in the Lebanon, motorists using the mountainous highway from Beirut to the Syrian capital, Damascus, were urged to use snow chains, and an usual piece of advice emanated from the Israeli Health Ministry; with temperatures below freezing in much of the country, the public were advised to use the toilet before leaving home!

Across the Atlantic, in the United States, there was no such advice, despite winter arriving with a vengeance across Texas. Worst affected areas were to the north of the state, where up to 12 cm (5 inches) of snow fell. Power lines were felled, flights in and out of Dallas were cancelled, and numerous traffic accidents were reported.

No such problems for ourselves through the coming week. The biggest hazard we will see is some patchy frost and fog.

Weather News from the last five days:
14/02/2004
13/02/2004
12/02/2004
11/02/2004
10/02/2004

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