A storm that has been lashing Lebanon since the weekend dropped snow on the coast in northern areas, blocked major mountainous roads and forced the closure of schools for a third day as the worst is yet to come.

The National News Agency said Wednesday that the snow reached the coast in the northern town of Batroun. It also reached 400 meters above sea level in the northern Akkar district. Residents of the area which has been witnessing a power failure since Tuesday rushed to buy diesel for heating.

Sahel Akkar, the town of Sheikh Zinad and the areas of al-Arida, Hekr al-Dahri and Sammaqiyeh witnessed severe flooding after al-Istwan and al-Kabir rivers burst their banks, causing severe damage to crops, the NNA said. In southern Lebanon's Nabatiyeh governorate, the Beaufort Castle was decorated in white as a thin layer of snow covered areas near the market town of Nabatiyeh.

Several mountainous roads were also blocked, NNA said. [Link]