00:54 Israel Wind So Strong It Blows A Woman Over People everywhere are seeing some strange weather this week. In Israel, the wind was so intense it blew a woman over who was crossing the street. Matt Sampson has the details.

A powerful winter storm dumped snow, heavy rain, high winds and hail across the Middle East, killing at least two Syrian refugees trekking out of the war-torn country into Lebanon, injuring at least three others and knocking out power to thousands.

"The jet stream carved out a sharp trough from western Russia into the eastern Mediterranean Sea," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "With cold air near the surface and enough moisture and lift from the trough, snow was generated from southeast Europe into the Middle East."

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/mideast-snow-pattern-7jan15.jpg" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/mideast-snow-pattern-7jan15.jpg 400w, https://s.w-x.co/mideast-snow-pattern-7jan15.jpg 800w" > The upper-level wind pattern responsible for snow in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean Sea on January 7, 2015.

Erdman said that cold winds over the Black Sea also generated sea-effect snow over Istanbul, Turkey, and even on the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini.

Snow isn't unusual in these areas of the Middle East. Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan usually experience a few snow days a year. Less than two years ago, the heaviest snowstorm to hit Jerusalem in 50 years stranded some 1,500 people on roads throughout the area.

Here are the latest impacts across the Middle East from the winter storm:

Egypt

Wind speeds of more than 25 notches created waves more than 13 feet high in the Gulf of Suez. As a result five of Egypt's Red Sea ports were closed on Wednesday, Al Arabiya News reported.

Israel

Strong winds toppled trees and power lines in several cities, leading to power outages in Haifa and Tel Aviv, amongst other cities, the Times of Israel reports.

Winds brought down a billboard onto three people in Holon, Israel, injuring them, Haaretz reports.

Schools in Jerusalem proper and other cities were shut down due to the encroaching storm. Snow forced the closure of many roads in the north of the country, particularly at higher elevations, the Associated Press reports. According to Haaretz, at one point during the day Wednesday, all roads leading into Jerusalem were closed due to snow. Those roads have since been reopened.

The paper also reports that lightning struck an air traffic control tower at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, leading to flight delays in excess of an hour.

Israeli soldiers were deployed to northern portions of the country to keep hospitals open during the snow. More than 100 snowplows were deployed in Jerusalem to clear roads.

Jordan

Royal Jordanian Airlines canceled various Thursday and Friday flights due to the adverse conditions, Al Arabiya News said.

Al Arabiya also noted schools remained closed Wednesday per the orders of the Education of Ministry.

(MORE: 10 Shocking Snow Cities )

Lebanon

Snow, hail and cold temperatures descended upon the Bekaa Valley , home to some 400,000 Syrian refugees, the Guardian reports.

The Red Cross confirmed that two refugees died in the treacherous snow and cold in south Lebanon. The Associated Press reports that Ammar Kamel, 30, and Majed Badawi, 7, both died in the mountains near the town of Ain al-Joz, Lebanon.

The hundreds of thousands of refugees struggled to clear snow from their tents, fearing that the weight of the snow could collapse, or later flood, their only shelter.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that there have been more than 100 tent collapse reports already and that roads were cut off by heavy snowfall, limiting access to vital resources. UNHCR opened six emergency shelters for the refugees in response to the storm.

The Lebanon Daily Star reports that the Red Cross had conducted more than 200 rescue related operations in the country due to the winter storm. The paper also reports that a major highway, which connects the Lebanese capital of Beirut with the Syrian capital of Damascus was impassable due to the storm.

Palestine

According to the Associated Press, Palestinian leaders declared a state of emergency in the West Bank and Gaza Strip due to the storm.

An infant reportedly died in a fire caused by a heating stove in a refugee camp in the West Bank.

Syria

The storm brought the ongoing Syrian conflict to a standstill, grounding aircraft in low visibility. Snow blanketed the capital city of Damascus, snarling traffic throughout the city. According to the Associated Press, schools in Damascus were closed due to the storm.

Syria's two main ports in Tartous and Latakia were closed after winds of up to 45 mph created waves of more than 15 feet high, Al Arabiya News reported.