CAIRO - A bad weather is expected to hit Egypt as of Tuesday with winds, heavy fog and rainfall forecast on most areas, the Meteorological Authority warned Monday. "A three-day cold snap is hitting the nation, starting on Tuesday (tonight) night as temperatures are anticipated to be lower than 18 Celsius," said Mohamed Eissa, the head of the authority. He added that the bad weather would reach its climax on Thursday with heavy downpours on northern and eastern areas. "A New Year's eve frost is also expected in Egypt," Eissa said in a statement Monday. He added that the rainfall would be heavy, accompanied by thunder, warning that floods are predicted on Sinai, the Red Sea and Upper Egypt. The official pointed out the foul weather would affect navigation traffic at both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean ports. "The weather will gradually improve starting from noon on Friday," said Eissa. Sandstorms, rain and wind have battered swathes of the country in earlier this month, with northern areas among the worst hit. At least 10 ports on the Red Sea and Mediterranean were closed due to the storms. Officials in South and North Sinai governorates have warned residents against floods or blocking the waterways defined by authorities, after the floods displaced more than 100 families during the past two weeks in the Red Sea Governorate. The Government had promised to give compensation to the owners of homes destroyed last year in the southern city of Aswan. However, some of them complained they received nothing, according to recent media reports.
