Winter’s first snowfall was not as welcomed by Syrian children in war-torn Homs as it was more than three years ago.

The streets remained empty of happy laughter of little kids playing in joy and throwing snow balls at each other.

Activists have been posting pictures of different areas in Syria and in the refugee camps in Lebanon on the social media, covered under heavy freezing snowfalls.

Thousands of refugees from Syria are enduring a bitterly cold winter storm in camps in Lebanon.

The storm named Alexa is expected to test Lebanon with freezing temperatures, high winds and precipitation until Saturday.

Wednesday saw the first snowfall of the season in the north and east of the country, while Beirut and much of the coast received some rainfall. Roads remained open in Beirut, where concerns were especially high after last week’s flooding.

Temperatures are expected to drop further across Lebanon as schools remain closed for a second day in a row and authorities warn of more road closures.

In northern Arsal, just across the border from Syria, layers of snow sat atop flimsy shelters housing tens of thousands of recently arrived refugees.

More than 835,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Lebanon, although the real number is thought to total more than one million.

Thousands live in makeshift camps, in shelters made of little more than plastic sheeting nailed to wooden frames.

SHI/SHI