A powerful cold front moving south from the Balkans has brought wintry conditions to much of northern Greece, with snowfall, sharp temperature drops, and severe weather warnings from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY).
The storm system began affecting the country on Sunday afternoon, arriving from the north. Temperatures in parts of Central and Eastern Macedonia, including the Axios Valley and the Evros region, have already fallen significantly, according to data from Meteo.
Western Macedonia has also been hit hard, with areas like Florina and Kozani receiving heavy snowfall.
Videos on social media show snow-covered streets and heavy snowfall in mountain towns, while weather officials report dramatic temperature drops.
“In just six hours, we saw a 15°C drop in Florina,” meteorologist Thodoris Kolydas posted online.
Former EMY director Nikos Kanteres told local outlet iefimerida.gr that the cold spell is expected to bring unstable conditions through Wednesday.
He forecast widespread rain in the lowlands, thunderstorms in coastal areas, stronger northern winds, and a temperature drop of 6 to 8 degrees Celsius. Snow is expected in mountainous regions of Central Greece.
In Athens, Mr. Kanteres said temperatures are likely to fall to around 11-12°C by Wednesday.
EMY has issued an emergency bulletin, warning of locally intense rainfall and thunderstorms, significant temperature decline, and heavy snow, particularly in the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of Macedonia and Thrace.