Floods, Stormy Weather Hit Greece

Floods and stormy weather are hitting Greece since Wednesday with meteorologists warning that bad weather will peak on Thursday.

Residents in Attica have been urged to restrict their movements due to the deteriorating weather in an emergency 112 alert sent to all mobile phones in the region.

“Warning message about severe weather for the next few hours in your area. Reduce any movement during the phenomena unless necessary. Follow instructions by the authorities,” the English-language text in the bilingual message reads.

Traffic jams and several cases of flooding have been reported in the capital.

Storms hit western Greece and in particular the Ionian island of Zakynthos where several areas were flooded. Traffic was halted in some parts and a landslide occurred near the village of Argasi.

Crews from the Regional Unit of Zakynthos and the Municipality have been on the streets since early on Thursday morning, while the Fire Department of Zakynthos throughout the night received dozens of calls, while in some cases a rescue operation had to be carried out from houses that had been flooded.

Major problems were also recorded in Imathia, central Macedonia, while municipalities in the prefecture of Pella have been placed in a state of emergency due to widespread problems in several towns including Aridaia.

Floods and stormy weather also hit eastern Greece

According to the meteorological service Meteo, heavy rains and storms will peak on Thursday throughout Greece.

Heavy snowfall in the mountains and semi-mountainous parts of Central and Northern Greece is also forecast.

More specifically, on Thursday, January 26, heavy rains and storms are expected in the Ionian Islands and the western mainland, which will locally be accompanied by increased electrical activity and hail.

The strong phenomena will progressively move further east and will affect the entire country. .

The temperature will vary in Western Macedonia from -3 to 3 degrees Celsius, in the rest of Northern Greece from -1 to 8, and in Epirus from 1 to 11 degrees.

In the Northern Aegean, northeasterly winds will blow with intensities of 6-7 Beaufort, with progressive strengthening locally to 8 Beaufort, and in the rest of the Aegean, southeasterly winds with 7-8 Beaufort and possibly temporarily locally 9 Beaufort.

Storms forecast to hit Athens and Thessaloniki

Meteo says that Attica will be hit by strong rains and storms, mainly in the afternoon hours. The temperature will range from 7 to 12-13 degrees.

In Thessaloniki, it expects rain and possible storms. Temporary snowfalls will occur in mountainous and semi-mountainous sections. The temperature will range from 3 to 7 degrees.