Greece is bracing for a sharp turn in weather beginning Saturday, with forecasts predicting heavy rains, strong winds, and a significant drop in temperatures, peaking on Sunday.
A cold front moving in from the Balkans will bring wintry conditions that could last through midweek, according to meteorologist Theodoros Kolydas, former director of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. The early days of April are expected to feel like mid-winter, with torrential rainfall, strong northern winds, and unseasonably low temperatures.
Snowfall is possible, even in lowland areas of western Macedonia.
Starting early Saturday, local showers and sporadic thunderstorms are forecast across Thessaly, the Sporades, eastern mainland Greece, Euboea, the Cyclades, and gradually in the Dodecanese and eastern Aegean islands. Elsewhere, cloud cover will bring rain during the afternoon and evening, particularly over Crete and other mainland regions.
Temperatures will range from 4 to 15 degrees Celsius in western Macedonia, 8 to 19 in the rest of Macedonia, Thrace, and Thessaly, 5 to 18 in Epirus, 8 to 18 in central Greece and the Ionian islands, 5 to 19 in the Peloponnese, 8 to 18 in the Aegean islands, and 10 to 20 in Crete.
Winds will blow from the west-northwest at 2 to 4 Beaufort, reaching up to 5 in southern areas.
In Athens, cloud cover with localized showers is expected. Winds will shift from northwesterly to south-southwesterly by midday, at 2 to 4 Beaufort. Temperatures in the capital will range from 10 to 18 degrees Celsius.
In Thessaloniki, skies will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain. Winds will begin from the northwest, turning southeasterly later in the day. Temperatures will range from 8 to 17 degrees Celsius.
The severe weather system is forecast to persist through Thursday, keeping much of the country in a cold spell atypical for the season.