Central Greece has been hit with an unprecedented amount of rainfall in the past 24 hours, resulting in dangerous flooding and breaking a new national record for daily rainfall.
This is due to the formation of a low pressure system called Storm Daniel, which formed in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece earlier this week. Storm Daniel has been drawing in a significant amount of moisture from unusually warm Mediterranean Sea waters, resulting in the formation of dense clouds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms over the Balkan Peninsula. While several Balkan countries have experienced rain and thunderstorms in the past 48 hours, central Greece has been most profoundly impacted. A satellite animation shows Storm Daniel centered over the Ionian Sea on Tuesday afternoon, producing a steady stream of thick clouds covering Greece.
At least two rain gauges in Central Greece received more than half a metre of rain in less than 24 hours on Tuesday.
According to Meteo.gr, the heaviest daily total in the country as of 8:45pm local time on Tuesday was 754 mm. This was the heaviest daily rainfall on record in Greece, beating the previous record of 644.7 mm from September 2020.
Rain and thunderstorms will continue over parts of Greece on Wednesday into Thursday morning, before easing on Thursday afternoon as the low moves away from the country.
The latest warnings from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service can be found here.
