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This is why Lebanon is experiencing a polar March

This is why Lebanon is experiencing a polar March

Akkar under the snow (Credit: L'Orient Today)

The polar winds that have been whipping through Lebanon and the region these last few days may not be exceptional for winter, but they are unusual for the month of March. Abdel Rahman Zawawi, head of the forecasting service at Meteo-Lebanon, the country’s weather service, recalled the popular saying that "we must save the biggest logs for the month of March."

"That's what our ancestors said, they probably lived through similar months in their time," he told L'Orient-Le Jour.

Beyond the anecdote, from a scientific point of view, the expert explained why such polar temperatures are affecting the southern Mediterranean basin and the Middle East this year. “The jet stream, an air current which is at an altitude of 10 kilometers, generally represents a dam at the arrival of such low-pressure zones towards our region,” he explained. However, it seems that this jet stream has moved to other latitudes this year, which has paved the way for these polar temperatures in Lebanon, but also in Egypt, for example, and elsewhere.

Polar temperatures have arrived, but the rain Lebanon is experiencing is within normal limits. "It should be noted that the level of rainfall remains below the annual average, even if it exceeded last year's average in some regions," he pointed out. The March cold, however, replenished the snowpack which had fallen sharply due to a milder period in February. However, snow stores water and replenishes, during its melting, the water tables which are the main hydraulic resource of the country.

Another particularity of this low-pressure zone: the winds, which reached 95 kilometers-per-hour last Friday in the Beirut airport area, underlined the expert. "During these two days of Tuesday and Wednesday, which will obviously be the coldest (six to eight degrees cooler than normal), the weather will be rather dry, perhaps with intermittent rain," he continued.

What characterizes this year, said Abdel Rahman Zawawi, is that the autumn was particularly mild and dry, and that the rainy and snowy season is prolonged. It is impossible, however, to know if new areas of low pressure should be expected beyond storm Greta, which will have dissipated around Saturday, ushering in a rise in temperatures.

“We cannot have reliable forecasts beyond a week,” he said, “but as long as the temperatures remain lower than the average for the month – which, in the case of March, is 13 to 22 degrees Celcius – we can continue to expect, more or less, intense rains.

The view in Jezzine onTuesday morning. (Credit: Mountasser Abdallah)

Regions under snow

Yesterday was particularly cold, and today will be much the same. Thus, snowfall was observed at an altitude of 450 meters in Lebanon, with temperatures well below seasonal averages. Faced with the economic crisis and the collapse of infrastructure, the Lebanese have suffered under these weather conditions, especially in the mountains. Our correspondent in South Lebanon reports that snow covered the majority of villages in Jezzine, and that snowfall was observed at 500 meters above sea level. The schools in this locality, as well as those of Jezzine, Marjeyoun and Bint Jbeil, have therefore closed their doors.

But it was Akkar that suffered the most, having been without electricity for several days. Snowfall was observed at 350 meters, and starting at 450 meters, some roads were cut off, reports our correspondent in the North.

In the Bekaa, our correspondent reports that the snow that fell at 500 meters and above covered the entire plain up to Baalbeck. The roads in the region were cut off and villages located at 1,300 meters were completely isolated.

The polar winds that have been whipping through Lebanon and the region these last few days may not be exceptional for winter, but they are unusual for the month of March. Abdel Rahman Zawawi, head of the forecasting service at Meteo-Lebanon, the country’s weather service, recalled the popular saying that "we must save the biggest logs for the month of March." "That's what our ancestors said,...