Powerful storm ‘Oceanis’ buries Northern Greece in snow. Temperatures dropped by around 10 degrees Celsius as the cold front settled over Greece on Saturday, bringing icy cold weather that has disrupted both road, sea and air transports.
Gale force winds of 8-9 Beaufort, with gusts reaching up to 10 on the Beaufort scale, have led to the cancellation of all scheduled ferry departures from the ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio on Saturday afternoon, as well as hydrofoil ferries to the Saronic Gulf ports. Also closed are the Rio-Antirrio, Kyllini-Kefallonia and Kyllini-Zakynthos ferry links.
A scheduled journey from Volos to the Sporades islands in the Aegean was cancelled on Saturday and the Keramoti-Kavala-Thassos, Alexandroupolis-Samothrace ferry lines were closed.
Big time snow in Chania, Pelion, central Greece today, Feb 24! Report: Panagiwths Mrks / @MeteoGr pic.twitter.com/G2pnQuVQrk
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 24, 2019
HeThe next video gives you an idea of the blizzard aftermath:
Blizzard aftermath on Samotraki Island, Greece this morning, Feb 24! Report: Strati Vaikouzi via Forecast Weather Greece pic.twitter.com/5hdRXn5WkM
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 24, 2019
Passengers planning to travel by ferry on Saturday are advised to contact the local port authorities or travel agencies before setting off.
This was recorded during the furious snow and icy storm:
Blizzard conditions on Lemnos island, Aegean sea, Greece today, Feb 23! Report: Athanasios Lampridis pic.twitter.com/8EsqyRUVEW
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 23, 2019
The bad weather also affected road transport in northern Greece, where authorities have barred vehicles of more than 3.5 tonnes from using the Egnatia Highway between the Komotini junction and the Vafeika, Xanthi junction due to the very strong winds in Rodopi and Xanthi. Large vehicles were diverted to the Komotini-Porto Lagos-Xanthi national road while snow chains are needed in several parts of the road network.
Pretty much incredible for Greece, no?
Blizzard conditions on Lemnos island, Aegean sea, Greece today, Feb 23! Report: Athanasios Lampridis pic.twitter.com/8EsqyRUVEW
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 23, 2019
The island of Samothrace was especially hard hit, according to the local mayor, who said that snow had settled throughout the island and had exceeded one metre in depth in Chora, the main town, and other areas, while the entire road network was closed. Machinery obtained to keep roads clear, he said, had been forced to stop working by a blizzard that reduced visibility and made working dangerous. The island is still in a state of emergency following a recent extreme weather phenomenon.
Deep winter conditions in Mytilene, Lesbos Island, Greece yesterday, Feb 23. Report: Meteo Hellas pic.twitter.com/byMBO2RTol
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 24, 2019
And that was filmed in the mountains! Insane!
Big time snow on Falakro mountain, Macedonia, N Greece yesterday, Feb 23. Report via @MeteoplusRO pic.twitter.com/Dh8ScWv2ZL
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 24, 2019
Authorities in Thessaloniki, meanwhile, are on standby and spreading salt and using snow ploughs to keep roads clear and deal with problems expected due to the snow that started falling in the area early on Saturday. Central Thessaloniki roads remained opened but problems were reported in the city’s suburbs and some areas were without power in the morning.
Even the beaches turned white:
Polar conditions on Lemnos Island, Greece today, Feb 23! Report: Λευτέρης Μπέσσας / @MeteoGr pic.twitter.com/QcW2b2pqcX
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 23, 2019
After problems earlier on Saturday, the city’s bus company OASTh reported that all bus services were now running normally, though with some delay due to heavy traffic.
Heavy snow up to 20 cm deep was also reported in areas of Trikala, Karditsa and Larisa, though main roads remain open so far. Motorists using rural roads in those areas may need snow chains.
And what about the heavy winds?
Windstorm in Epirus, W Greece today, Feb 23. Report: Epirus Post pic.twitter.com/u8PxyjmR3z
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) February 23, 2019
Four flights scheduled to arrive at Thessaloniki’s ‘Macedonia’ airport were cancelled on Saturday because they were unable to land due to strong winds and low visibility. These included three international flights – from Larnaca, Nuremberg and Berlin – and one from Athens. Due to the cancellation of the Athens-Thessaloniki flight, the return flight from Thessaloniki to Athens was also cancelled.
Also cancelled were flights to Kalamata, Samos and Skyros that are carried out with small aircraft.
Meanwhile, hurricane-like winds swept the coast of Croatia, beating wind speed record.
Another anomalous weather phenomenon… this time in Greece!
