February 28, 2020
A massive snow storm, believed to be the worst to hit Iran in 16 years, blanketed the country north of the Alborz Mountains, leaving many villages completely isolated from one another even a full week after the storm.
Eight people were reported killed, all in Gilan province. Five died in an avalanche in Rudbar County.
Many critics have assailed the government for what they charge is ineptitude and lack of preparation for the storm. Local news reports said the storm had been forecast days in advance, but provincial officials across the north did not take many advance precautions.
According to Reza Eslami, director general of the Crisis Headquarters in Gilan province, which appeared to be the worst hit, some communities reported more than 100 centimeters (39 inches) of the white stuff. The Financial Tribune said parts of Rasht, on the Caspian coast, even reported more than a meter of snow.
High in the mountains, even greater depths were reported.
The city of Rasht said 100,000 homes and businesses were without electrical power. Rasht has a population of 700,000.
Many communities also had their gas deliveries cut off. As a result, the severe cold added to the danger. The lowest temperature recorded in Glan was minus-14 centigrade (+7 Fahrenheit) in Siahkal County.
The snowfall began Saturday, February 8, and continued for four days in many areas. The storm hit from West Azerbaijan province on the border with Turkey eastward to Mazandaran province.
The last such snowstorm was recorded in Iran in 2004.
The one piece of good news from the snowfall is that it is expected to fill up reservoirs all across the north when spring comes. But it is also likely to bring serious flooding at that time.
Separate snowstorms also blanketed other provinces, such as Hamadan, Lorestan, Ilam and Charmahal va Bakhtiari.