The sweltering heat wave that has gripped Turkey for weeks may come to an end this weekend, as temperatures were already back to their seasonal averages on Friday. Weather forecasters also predict two days of rain over the weekend and on Monday.

Ergün Güler, a senior official from the state-run Meteorological Service said temperatures that have been floating two to five degrees Celsius above seasonal averages would start dropping on Friday to seasonal averages, thanks to winds from the north. Güler underscored that north of the Marmara region, including Istanbul and the western parts of the Black Sea region would see occasional precipitation on Friday, and rainfall and thunderstorms will dominate the entire country save for the southern and southwestern parts on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the Marmara region, Black Sea region and parts of central Turkey will experience rainfall. Rainfall coupled with thunderstorms will impact the same regions on Sunday as well as northeastern Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean region where Adana, one of the warmest provinces, is located.

In Istanbul, temperatures will gradually drop with the highest anticipated temperature to be 32 degrees Celsius before it declines to 28 C. Though rainfall will continue over the weekend and Monday in Istanbul, precipitation is not expected on Tuesday.

Professor Orhan Şen, a meteorologist, said that this year Istanbul has seen the longest period of extremely hot weather in a long time, with temperatures always remaining up to eight degrees Celsius above seasonal averages.

Rainfall had already hit northwestern Turkey on Thursday and Friday. Edirne, a province near Istanbul that borders Bulgaria and Greece, was hit by incessant rainfall over the two days with some streets flooding.

A heat wave hailing from North Africa had engulfed the entire country in the past week, particularly impacting southern cities known for their warm summer climate.