2013 Middle East Cold Snap, Alexa Winter Storm, Cairo, Egypt

According to Matthew Hollingworth, Syria Country Director for the United Nation’s World Food Programme, most internally displaced Syrians fled their homes with few belongings so they do not even have enough warm clothes or blankets to fend off the freezing weather. They desperately need fuel for heating and to cook the food they receive as humanitarian assistance.” Reportedly, a child and a baby died from the cold on December 12, and an activist in a besieged rebel-held town of Hara said residents were struggling to stay warm with the electricity cut off and no food or fuel allowed in.
Meteorological history
Beginning December 11, a strong ridge in the jet stream caused a big anticyclone over Europe; its east edge drew a strong current of cold air south from the Arctic. This polar outbreak overspread Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean region, pushing below moist air associated with a passing front, causing heavy snow and sleet over higher elevations in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. At lower elevations, heavy rain from the system caused flooding in some areas.