Istanbul, Turkey Rocked By Strongest Winds In Memory

A roof flies off a building in Istanbul, Turkey earlier this
week as extreme winds hit the region

 As we head into winter, large wind storms get increasingly common. 

We're awaiting our own wind storm here in Vermont, set to begin late tonight and continue most of Monday.

Ours won't be super destructive, with just some scattered power outages and tree damage expected. 

But some storms really go off the rails. 

Such was the case in Istanbul, Turkey last week. The wild winds killed at least six people, injured dozens and caused extensive damage in city of 16 million people, according to CNN and other news sources.

Many buildings were unroofed, walls collapsed, minarets blew over, as did an iconic clock tower in the city.

Although wind storms happen pretty much every winter in Turkey, this one was the most extreme in memory, with winds gusting to 80 mph.  Since the city was not built for winds that strong the damage was extensive.

Video (Click on this link to view this one if using a mobile device).

Another video of the destructive Istanbul winds. Again, click on this link if your device doesn't allow to see it embedded in this post).