BEIRUT: After weeks of warm weather and light showers, Lebanon is bracing for another storm that will bear down Sunday, with farmers, citizens and Syrian refugees advised to start taking precautions. The weather Sunday will be partially cloudy with a significant drop in temperatures during the day, according to the Meteorological Department at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
At night there will be heavy showers, thunderstorms, strong winds and snowfall at 1,500 meters above sea level, the department added.
The storm has been triggered by a low pressure system located above west Italy and is predicted to last until Feb. 15.
The Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute says the system will arrive as two separate storms – “Jenni” which will end Tuesday to be immediately followed by “Sylvia” – adding that the second one would be more powerful.
The Meteorological Department, however, said the country would be hit by one storm named “Yohan.”
Temperatures for Sunday are expected to range between 8 and 19 degrees Celsius along the coast, 5 and 11 in the mountains, minus 1 and 7 in the Cedars and 3 and 15 degrees in the Bekaa Valley.
“The storm will intensify [next] Wednesday and Thursday with snowfall expected to fall at altitudes between 700 and 800 meters above sea level,” the MeteorologicalDepartment said.
Last month, Lebanon was hit by storm “Zina,” which wrought havoc for numerous citizens and refugees across the country. Snow fell at an altitude as low as 500 meters, leading to the blockage of vital roads, the closure of schools, a number of deaths, damage to agricultural projects, disruption to the works of fishermen and a delay in flight schedules.
In order to prevent the recurrence of some of these events, LARI recommended farmers speed up their work before the storm kicks off.
On its website, LARI suggested concerned bodies and municipalities take the necessary measures to prepare for the snowy weather and asked relevant bodies to take extra precautions to protect those in Syrian refugee camps.
The institute asked citizens to be careful of billboards and tree branches when winds are strong and asked them to secure loose items that could be blown off balconies and roofs.
When rains are heavy, LARI advises citizens to drive slowly, double check cars’ brakes, avoid taking routes that are prone to flooding, and, for relevant figures, clean agricultural channels and river and stream drainage points.
Avoid taking mountainous routes when there’s snow, it added. Only SUVs or cars equipped with metal chains should take such routes, and all drivers should have a small shovel, warm clothes, and enough food and water with them in case they get stuck in the snow.
Low temperatures can also lead to the formation of layers of ice and black ice, LARI warned.
“The total level of precipitation for this year [in Ras Beirut] from September until Feb. 6 is 498 milliliters,” a source from the Nicolas Chahine Observatory told The Daily Star. The Observatory is based in Ras Beirut.
“This year [the rainfall] bypassed last year’s and is just about equal to the general average 509 milliliters,” the source said, adding that he hoped more rain would be recorded as “Yohan” hit Lebanon.
The Internal Security Forces are ready for any emergency cases, the body told The Daily Star, and can be reached by dialing 112.
The earlier part of the weekend will offer temperate weather seen this week. Saturday’s temperatures will be as follows: between 8 and 23 degrees along the coast, 9 and 19 in the mountains, 5 and 15 in the Cedars and between 6 and 23 in the Bekaa Valley.
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