Winter Storm Hits Greece, Turkey with Snow, Wind

A severe winter storm has swept over much of Greece and Turkey, disruptingtravel, closing schools and knocking out power.The storm, which began on Monday, continued unleashing high winds and snow intoWednesday.

High winds raking southward over the Aegean Sea made for a serious marinehazard for shipping. Ferries linking the many islands and mainland ports weresubjected to cuts in service.

Ships were not allowed to sail from Piraeus and a number of other ports,reports said.

On the island of Limnos, winds surged above 70 mph at times; Mikonos andSantorini weathered 60-mph gusts.

Plowing snow on Penteli Mountain,northern Athens, Greece, on March 9, 2011 (AP Photo).In Athens, the storm brought top wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph on Tuesday amidstfalls of wet snow and numbing cold rain. Temperatures dipped to near freezing.

Snow-slick pavement slowed travel on area roads, and some schools andbusinesses were reportedly shut.

At Tripolis, on the southern mainland, the storm left about 6 inches (15 cm) ofsnowfall as temperatures dipped to 25 degrees F (-4 degrees C).

Near-freezing winds to 40 mph whipped Istanbul Wednesday amidst a steady fallof snow.

Well inland, snow depth topped half a foot (15 cm) in the capital city ofAnkara, and snowfall was more than one foot (30 cm) at Afronkarahisar, in themiddle west.

The storm was spawned at the start of the week by a blast of cold air out ofRussia and Ukraine that swept over the Black and Aegean seas to the easternMediterranean.