The head of Turkey's leading meteorology laboratory said this winter will be relatively warm for Turkey's western regions, with rainfall replacing the usual snowfall of past years.

Adil Tek, the director of the Meteorology Lab of Kandilli Observatory in Istanbul, said on Friday that temperatures will be above seasonal norms in January, February and March, pointing out to the low likelihood of snowfall.

"Istanbul and cities in the west will see a warm and rainy winter," he added.

His remarks were made amid Istanbul's battle with heavy rains and cold weather in the past few days, with storms battering the city. Tek said a rainy weather pattern emerging from the middle Mediterranean region will affect Turkey's west