According to Greece’s National Observatory of Athens the country will experience the highest January temperatures of the last 50 years. Here in Heraklion, the temperature is currently 21°C with the high expected to reach 22°C.
According to meteorologists, this month’S temperatures will be as much as 15°C higher than normal for this time of year. The last time temperatures were this warm was way back in January 29, 1987, and on January 1, 2010. But those were isolated records dating back to the 19th century. For Crete island, the highest recorded temperature reached 30.4°C.
Greece is expected to be among the countries of the central and eastern Mediterranean that will see unusually warm weather over the upcoming weekend. This warm front is part of a bigger pattern of extreme weather that will divide Europe on January 9 and 10, as cold air masses spread to unusually low latitudes over Western Europe and northwest Africa, pushing very warm air masses eastward, toward Greece.
Also expected are heavy snows to the Iberian Peninsula and the Northern Balkans, as well as heavy rains in southern Spain, Morocco, and the Western Balkans, possibly resulting in flash flooding.
Source: Greek Reporter