Storm to batter the Middle East with rain, snow into the weekend

Areas from Turkey to Israel and Iraq will endure another winter storm later this week.

The storm pushed into Turkey midweek and will linger across much of the country through weeks end.

Rain is expected in Istanbul; however, colder air across interior parts of the country will increase the chances for snowfall. Rain will mix with and change to snow by the afternoon or evening hours.

The highest snowfall amounts in Turkey will be confined to the highest terrain.

Farther east and longer duration snowfall will bring accumulations of 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) from Keyseri to Erzurum. More than 30 cm of snow is expected in the higher terrain of eastern Turkey by the end of the day on Friday.

Areas that were impacted by the deadly 6.7 magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey last week will be at risk for accumulating snowfall, downpours and harsh cold from this storm.

Rescuers work on a collapsed building after a strong earthquake struck in Elazig in the eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. The earthquake rocked eastern Turkey on Friday, causing some buildings to collapse and killing scores of people, Turkish officials said. (IHA via AP)

Snow will also extend across far northern Iraq, northwest Iran and the mountains of Armenia and Georgia.

On the southern side of this storm, rain will fall from the lower elevations of southern Turkey into Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan into Friday. A bit of rain will also dampen northern Iraq on Friday.

The heaviest rainfall is expected from southern Turkey into northwest Syria, Lebanon and far northern Israel.

These locations will be at risk for localized flooding and travel disruptions with rainfall amounts of 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) possible.

Tel Aviv will avoid the heaviest rainfall with less than 12 mm (0.50 of an inch) expected to fall into Friday morning.

The higher elevations of Lebanon, northern Israel and southwest Syria may see accumulating snowfall from into Friday resulting in some travel disruptions.

This storm will track across northern Iran and Afghanistan this weekend bringing the risk for rain and high-elevation snowfall, particularly on Saturday. Some lingering showers are expected through Saturday night before drier weather returns for the beginning of the week.