Tuesday declared a general holiday in Greece due to heavy, sudden snowfall

The government declared Tuesday, Jan. 25, as a general holiday, as sudden and heavy snowfall on Monday throughout most of the country – something nevertheless forecast by most weather bulletins – rendered major roadways impassable.

The holiday affects both the private and public sectors.

At first, the government called for remote work as much as possible, although the storm front, code-named curiously enough “Elpis”, Greek for “hope”, did not let up going into the evening hours.

The rapid intensification of snowfall in the greater Athens area left thousands of vehicles stranded along main thoroughfares, as drivers ventured on the roads in standards cars without snow chains.