Severe weather front “Elpis”: Extreme cold and snow – All the details

The severe weather front “Elpis” is in progress and in the next few hours it is expected to bring rain, bitter cold and heavy snowfall all over the country.

According to the latest forecast models, local and temporary snowfalls are expected even in the lowlands, with a significant drop in temperature and frost in most parts of the country.

Extreme weather conditions will affect the country on Monday and Tuesday, when snow is expected even in the plains of the country and in Attica, too.

Meteorologists warn that we will see snow even in the center of Athens, while temperatures, in several parts of Greece, can reach even -20 degrees Celsius.

The weather forecast for Saturday

Specifically, according to Meteo, on Saturday, January 22, snow is expected even in the plains of central and northern Greece, while in the western and southern parts of the country rain and snowfall is expected, as well. There is a possibility of local storms in the south-southeastern parts of the islands. The temperature dropped significantly in most parts of the country.

There will also be northeasterly gales (Force 7) at seas. Frost at night and in the morning, in most parts of the country, while in the northern regions, there will be total frost conditions.

More specifically, on Saturday, January 22, 2022, snowfalls are expected even in the plains of Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Eastern Sterea and on the islands of the North Aegean, but also in areas with low altitude of the northern Peloponnese above ~ 200 meters.

Rains and snowfall in the mountains are expected all over Greece, while in the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese there is a possibility for thunderstorms and small hail.

The temperature will range, in Western Macedonia from -13 to 0 degrees, in the rest of Northern Greece from -12 to 6, in Epirus from -10 to 10 degrees, in Thessaly from -10 to 6, in the rest of the mainland from -3 to 12, in the Ionian islands from 2 to 10 degrees, in the islands of the North Aegean from -2 to 5 degrees, and in other island of the Aegean and in Crete from -1 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Readiness of all competent bodies

In fact, in view of the bad weather, a wide coordination meeting was held on Friday afternoon, under the Greek Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Mr. Christos Stylianidis, in the presence of the Greek Minister of State, Mr. Akis Skertsos, for the optimal coordination of all relevant bodies.

During the meeting, the director of the National Meteorological Service, Mr. Theodoros Kolydas, informed in detail the political leadership of the ministry and all participants about the course that will follow the upcoming bad weather, while in the meeting took part also the CEO of HEDNO, Mr. Anastasios Manos and representatives of the National Road Network management concessionaires (Aegean Motorway SA, Moreas SA, Nea Odos SA / Central Road SA).

HEDNO stressed, among other things, that its crews are already moving to islands and other areas that are difficult to access, where there may be power outage, in order to be able to intervene immediately, if necessary.

HEDNO has also made available to the public a free telephone line for damage reporting (800 400 4000).

The readiness of all co-competent bodies for their immediate intervention, in case of emergency, due to adverse weather conditions was confirmed, in accordance with the General Plan for Emergency Response, while the Fire Brigade of the areas where the phenomena are expected to occur is ready to intervene, if required, in order to deal with any problems.

Similarly, as noted by the head of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, the Armed Forces throughout the country are also on standby, to assist where needed. It was also decided to activate the European single emergency number, 112, if deemed necessary to send warning messages to residents, depending on the weather conditions.

It should be also noted that, as stated by the Deputy Minister of Interior, Mr. Stelios Petsas, instructions have been given to the Municipalities, in order to take all appropriate measures to facilitate the vaccination process and the smooth attendance of citizens to the vaccination centers.

Finally, it was decided to hold a new coordination meeting on Sunday, January 23, to re-evaluate the situation.

Following the relevant weather forecasts, we call on the citizens to be especially careful, to avoid unnecessary movements during the peak of the phenomena (heavy snowfall, frost conditions) and to faithfully follow the following basic instructions:

Instructions to citizens

In particular, in areas where snow and frost weather conditions are expected:

If they are going to travel by car, the citizens should:

• Be informed about the weather conditions and the condition of the road network, as well.
• Have anti-skid chains in their vehicle and the fuel tank full.
• Travel, if necessary, preferably during the day and by the main roads.
• Inform their relatives about the route they are going to follow.
• Adapt their plans to weather conditions, in order to avoid the peak of the weather phenomena.
• Faithfully follow the instructions of the competent bodies, such as the Road Traffic Police, etc.

If moving on foot, citizens should:

• Dress with several layers of light clothing, instead of heavy clothing, and wear appropriate shoes to avoid injuries due to slipperiness.