Frigid temperatures, gale-force winds, rain and snow blanket much of Greece from a weather front named ‘Hephaestion’ after Alexander the Great’s famous army general. Here on Crete, many Epiphany celebrations have been canceled or modified because of the foul weather.
The Hellenic Meteorological Service (HNMS) has warnings for much of Greece, and snow is expected in all mountainous regions, semi-mountainous areas and in the North and East Aegean Islands and Evia island. Thessaly is experiencing dense snowfall in certain areas and snow will also fall on the eastern section of Central Greece, Evia, and the eastern Peloponnese.
Hephaestion will bring continued snowfall on Tuesday in most of the above-mentioned areas but are expected to abate starting from a northerly direction in the late afternoon. Stong winds measuring between 7 and 9 on the Beauford scale are affecting seas throughout the region. In some places on Crete and other islands, these winds may reach 10 on the Beaufort scale.
At Heraklion’s port on Crete, gale forced winds caused seas to breach the seawall and blasted the city’s famous Koules Venetian Fortress. In the city marina, adventurous customers marveled at the sea spray inundating the protected harbor.
Rain and thunderstorms, some including hale storms, will affect the North and East Aegean Islands and Evia as of midday on Sunday (Jan. 5), while Hephaestion gradually also affects the Cycladic Islands, Crete, the Ionian Islands, and the Dodecanese Islands.