Winter sets in with rain, cold, gales
Putting an end to weeks of warm weather, a cold spell prevailed over most of the country yesterday, with temperatures plunging and strong winds disrupting passenger shipping in the Aegean. The Nevrokopi area near Drama in eastern Macedonia registered the day’s lowest temperature of 1 degree centigrade (34F), while the towns of Florina and Serres, also in Macedonia, were slightly warmer at 5 degrees. Kastoria and Kozani followed at 6 degrees, and in Kavala and Alexandroupolis, further east, the temperature fell to 7 degrees. The day’s lowest temperature for Thessaloniki was 10C (50F) degrees. Heavy rainstorms struck many parts of Macedonia, while in a chilly Athens a steady drizzle turned the capital’s streets – which have not been washed by heavy rain for months – into oily skating rinks. Ferries were banned from sailing from the ports of Piraeus and Rafina for the northeastern Aegean, where gale-force winds were blowing.
