Meteorology: Iraq is exposed to a very cold polar wave starting Saturday

Baghdad - INA

The Meteorology Authority announced today, Thursday, that Iraq will be exposed to a very cold polar wave starting next Saturday.

The Authority said in a report received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) a copy of it: "The weather model updates received by the Meteorology Forecasting Department indicate that the country is exposed to a weather condition resulting from the rush of a polar air mass, very cold in the upper layers of the atmosphere."

It added, "This air mass will cause scattered showers of rain and snow on mountaintops, which may reach some low-lying areas in a number of cities, accompanied by a sharp drop in surface temperatures, which will be the most severe during the current winter season, as they will reach low temperatures, especially during the morning and night hours, with high chances of frost and ground freezing."

He explained that "the beginning of the cold mass effect will be as of Saturday, February 22, starting from the north and northwest of the country, accompanied by a gradual decrease in temperatures."

He continued, "The effects of the cold mass will then gradually advance towards the rest of the country's cities, and will continue until the middle of the following week, where its impact will peak during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."

He pointed out that "the forecasts indicate that the weather will be partly cloudy with periods of clear weather during the period from Saturday, February 22 until Monday evening, February 24, with expected light to moderate rain showers at times, but its effects will not include all cities of the country."

He continued, "With the beginning of the effect of the very cold air mass as of Saturday, the chances of light snowfall will increase on Saturday evening and night on the mountainous highlands north of Erbil, with expectations of reaching some low-lying areas in the Anbar Plateau, southern Nineveh and northern Salah al-Din."