Snow In The Mediterranean? This Year, Yes

A blanket of snow covered portions of the Mediterranean basin after a winter storm swept through the region Tuesday night.

Snow is common in the mountain ranges outside of Athens, Greece, but rarely does it fall within the city limits. Children opted to skip online classes to play. Adults did the same, including Norwegian Ambassador Frode Overland Andersen, who shared a video of himself skiing near the Olympic Stadium in Filothi on Twitter, The Associated Press reported.

In Istanbul, children donned their pandemic masks and winter coats and braved the cold for a snowball fight outside of the Blue Mosque. The storm reached as far as Lebanon's ancient city of Baalbek and even Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, the snow also led to power outages and delays across the region. Roads in Turkey closed, which left some 1,400 vehicles stranded. In Greece, ferry services and flights were disrupted and three deaths were linked to the storm, the AP reported.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.