A 48-hour cold front is expected to sweep into Greece over the weekend, causing a sharp drop in temperatures following a week of warm and humid conditions.
More specifically, meteorologists are forecasting a sudden drop in temperatures from weeklong highs of 22 degrees Celsius on Friday down to a high of 13 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The national weather service is also forecasting gale force winds (9+ Beaufort) for the weekend.
According to meteorologist George Tsatrafyllias, a so-called polar jet stream and strong northerly winds will send temperatures tumbling across Greece. Snow fall is also expected in mountainous areas where temperatures are set to drop to below 0.
“On Sunday and Monday morning, cities including Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Trikala, Argos, Halkida, Ioannina, Patras and Nafplio will wake up to temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius,” he said.
Mt Parnassus, one of Greece’s leading ski resorts, welcomed the first snowfall last week with images of snowcapped peaks going viral.
Meanwhile, gale force winds are expected to affect ferry services and coastal transport.
The warm for the season temperatures and southerly winds were expected to continue into Friday. Temperatures are set to rise on Tuesday as winds die down.
In relevant news, on Thursday, the UK was hit by a cold front which brought heavy snowfall. Many schools across the country remained closed. More disruption is expected after the weather service issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in parts of the UK until Friday as well as for rain and snow during the weekend.
