Written by By Mike Taylor, CNN
Some of the strongest winds in months battered Turkey on Friday, prompting warnings to sea-dwellers.
Four people were killed and some 52 others were injured as the temperature dropped to a record low in Istanbul, according to local reports. Stronger winds were reported in several other cities around the country.
Stronger than tropical storms
The unusually strong winds are a result of an area of low pressure approaching the southeastern coast of the country, officials said, adding that the country will probably not see any significant rain or storm activity for the next several days.
Turkey’s weather service, the MeteoCom, tweeted that the winds were strong enough to pass through in the test pattern of a thunderstorm over Afghanistan on Friday.
The strong winds are similar to the wind gusts seen in 2015.
“It is rare to see a wind like this,” national meteorological service ONAMI tweeted.
On Friday morning, the Istanbul Storm Warning Center issued a severe wind warning for parts of the city.
Wind gusts as high as 115 mph were recorded in Istanbul’s Sanliurfa province, according to the agency.
The high winds in Turkey follow a string of record cold spells across the United States and Canada this week. Meteorologists said the cold blast was due to a sudden drop in humidity, combined with colder air that was drawn in from the Arctic.
Meteorologists say the extreme cold is likely to continue until this weekend.