Cold snap and snow will freeze Greece on Sunday

A significant drop in temperatures is expected in Greece during the weekend, with a cold snap that may bring snow at even low altitudes in eastern and southern parts of the country, including in Attica, according to the latest forecast by the National Observatory of Athens weather service METEO.

The phenomena are expected to continue until next Tuesday.

Starting on Saturday night and moving from north to south, temperatures will plunge by 8-10 degrees Celsius on average and as much as 12 Celsius in places, affecting the entire country by Sunday afternoon.

Snow is expected to fall at even low altitudes, especially on the mainland and in eastern and southern parts of Greece. Most affected will be the Sporades islands, southeastern Thessaly, Evia, Viotia, Attica, the Cyclades islands, the eastern Peloponnese and Crete. Sections of Thrace, the northeastern Aegean islands and Halkidiki may also experience snowfall.

Northerly winds will become stronger, reaching as high as 7-8 Beaufort and even 9 in some areas, combined with freezing temperatures in the north.

This will be the result of a high pressure front over Europe extending from northwestern Africa to Scandinavia, combined with low pressures in East and Southeastern Europe, which will send cold air masses toward the Balkans and Greece, as well as microturbulence in the upper troposphere that will contribute to significant snowfall in the east and south of the country, though the intensity, extent and precise timing of the phenomena are hard to predict.

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