Lebanon has been since Thursday in the grip of storm “windy”, with snow reaching shores and temperature significantly dropping.

Lebanon has been since Thursday in the grip of storm “windy”, with snow reaching shores and temperature significantly dropping in the third storm to hit the country this year.

Heavy rains fell on the coast as snow blanketed mountains and reached areas only 300 meters above sea level and the shores in some coastal regions.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab ordered a closure of private and public schools on Friday and Saturday. For his part, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour announced that nurseries will close on Friday.

The storm Windy “still dominates over the Mediterranean Eastern basin and it is expected to recede on Saturday,” the National News Agency quoted the Meteorology Department at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport as saying.

The weather in Lebanon is expected to be partly cloudy and chilly with rains and snow at 600m, especially in the South, according to the Meteorology Department.