Fresh weather system Eteocles bringing storms and snow
A fresh low-pressure weather system is bringing heavy rainfall to most parts of Greece on Friday, as well as snow in the uplands of northern and central Greece, the National Observatory’s Meteo weather service has reported.
Dubbed Eteocles after the king of Thebes and Oedipus’ “truly glorious” son by the Greek weather service, the system will be sweeping in from the Adriatic after dumping large volumes of rain and snow on Italy and the Alps, and while brief, it is expected to be quite severe.
The islands of the Ionian, northern Greece and Thrace will be the first to be hit by the system with heavy showers that will then spread south and east to mainland Greece, the Peloponnese and the islands of the Aegean.
Northern and central Greece should brace for plenty of snow in the uplands, though flurries are also forecast for lower-lying areas.
Eteocles is also expected to bring gale-force winds that will be particularly acute at sea, where sailors are advised to exercise caution.
In Athens, heavy showers and lighting are forecast to start in the early hours of Saturday, easing by midday. The daytime high in the downtown area is not expected to exceed 16 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
The northern port city of Thessaloniki should brace for gusty winds reaching 55 kilometers per hour on Saturday and Sunday, as well as thunderstorms and a significant drop in temperatures, which are forecast to come to a nighttime low of 8 Celsius in the early hours of Sunday.
Florina and other parts of northern Greece will see temperatures drop to the single digits through Sunday, with the wind chill factor shaving off another 1-2 degrees.
