Rain, snow forecast as cold spell grips Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraq is expected to see unstable weather on Monday, with clouds, lower temperatures and chances of light to moderate rainfall accompanied at times by thunder and lightning, particularly in central and northern areas, according to the General Authority for Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring.

“The weather will be partly cloudy to cloudy in the central and northern regions,” the authority’s forecasting department said in a report received by 964media, adding that southern areas will see “partly cloudy conditions with intervals of clear weather.” The report said light to moderate rain is possible in several areas, with “some heavy rainfall in parts of the northern region,” while “light to moderate snowfall is expected on mountainous elevations in the north.”

Temperatures on Monday will be close to Sunday’s levels across most areas, with a slight drop in western sections, as “cold to very cold conditions will prevail at night and early morning, and cold conditions during the day,” the report said. Visibility is expected to range between 8 and 10 kilometers, decreasing during rainfall to as low as 2 kilometers in areas of heavier precipitation.

For Tuesday, the authority forecast cloudy weather in central and southern regions with chances of light rain, while northern areas will be partly cloudy. “Temperatures will drop several degrees in the central and northern regions,” it said.

Conditions are expected to stabilize somewhat on Wednesday, with mostly clear weather and a slight rise in temperatures, before rain and snow chances return Thursday and Friday, especially in northern areas, where “rainfall and snowfall will reduce horizontal visibility to between 2 and 4 kilometers,” the authority said.