Record Low Temperatures Remain in Greece as Power in Athens Restored

Record low temperatures were experienced in Greece on Wednesday during the second phase of the storm “Medea.”

According to the National Observatory of Athens weather service, meteo.gr, the lowest temperature, recorded at Neos Kafkasos in Florina, was -24.8C (-13 F).

The town of Ptolemaida followed with -20.4C, which is a new record since a meteo station was installed in the city in 2006.

Kilada, in the Kozani region, with -19.9C, the town of Florina with -18.9C and the town of Grevena with -17.3C, followed with the lowest recorded temperatures.

The strongest wind gust during the storm was recorded at Porto on the island of Tinos, measuring 121 km/h (75m/h). This is representative of a hurricane, in which winds must be at least 75 miles per hour.

Snow storm leaves Athens without power

The snow storm Medea, which left Athens covered in snow Tuesday, passed through the city on Wednesday and is making its way toward Crete.

The winter storm had left over 40,000 homes in Attica, especially in Athens’ suburbs, without electricity for a second day.

Nearly 38,000 households and businesses have had their power restored as of Wednesday afternoon because of the snowstorm, the power distribution network operator DEDDIE said.

DEDDIE said that a total of 70,000 households and businesses were still out of power mostly in North Attica suburbs, and restoration was assisted by local government and the army.

Works included clearing roads and removing trees that fell under the weight of snow.

Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, stated that the blackouts across Attica were expected to last until Wednesday evening as crews work tirelessly to restore power during the day.

Hardalias noted that HEDNO has led a massive effort to fix damaged power grids and restore electricity as quickly as possible, but faces extraordinary difficulties, since the storm impacted all of Greece:

“I want to make it clear that there has been an enormous effort made by HEDNO’s crews,” he stated.

“This is the first time that we have had a weather phenomenon impact all of Greece, as the snow storm did not just affect Attica.”

Public transport disruptions

Buses and trains in Athens continued to face problems in some areas on Wednesday.

Areas on the outskirts of the city, such as Kifissia, Penteli, Acharnes, Thrakomakedones and Fylis did not have full bus services due to snow on the roads and fallen trees.

According to the Athens public transport organization OASA, normal operation of the bus and trolley lines is gradually being restored, while the greater part of the network has been working since 7:00 on Wednesday.

Line 1 (green line) of the Athens metro system was running normally between Piraeus and Irini station, while the rest of the line up to Kifissia is expected to also be running soon.

Lines 2 and 3 (red and blue lines) are also running normally apart for the section between Doukissis Plakentias Station and the Athens Airport.

On Wednesday, the Greek Armed Forces released a video showing how the Army and Navy were coping well with the challenges posed by the inclement weather. Scenes showed soldiers in white camouflage practicing maneuvers in the snow and naval vessels making their way through the wind-whipped waves amidst flurries of snow.