- Severe rain, heavy hail, and gale-force winds struck Crete on Sunday morning, breaking nearly a decade of local weather norms.
- The storm’s intensity caused immediate water ingress, with heavy rain penetrating residential buildings.
- The upland village of Anogia was momentarily blanketed in white by intense hail.
- Winds reached 7 to 8 Beaufort, with forecasts predicting up to 9 Beaufort in the Aegean by Sunday night.
The sound of rain hitting Crete usually carries a steady, predictable rhythm. But this morning, just before nine, the downpour carried a sharp, metallic violence that Heraklion hasn’t seen in nearly a decade. For nine years, the walls of this house have stood firm against the changing seasons, dry and secure through every winter squall. Today, the water breached the boundary. Cold drops began to leak through the window frames, pooling on the floorboards in a quiet, unsettling invasion that dissolved the barrier between the wild weather outside and the sanctuary within.
Out on the streets, the scene was even more chaotic. A thick sheet of hail rattled against windowpanes, leaving a layer of icy slush that looked more like the dark days of January than the first week of May.
Up in the mountains, the historic village of Anogia was briefly blanketed in a frozen, silent white. The wind didn’t just blow; it howled from the north at 8 Beaufort, turning the open Aegean into a churn of foam and spray. Temperatures plunged to a damp, shivering 11°C, pinning everyone indoors.
Locals looking at flooded sills and gray skies will only have to wait a day for relief. The storm is moving fast, and warm, normal spring weather is slated to return by Monday.
