Heavy snowfall, icy winds cause major problems

Icy winds and heavy snowfall wreaked havoc across Greece on Wednesday, with motorists on the national highway linking Athens to Lamia in central Greece becoming trapped for nearly two hours in a midday blizzard.

Cars and intercity buses had to come to a halt as snow plummeted down on the highway, with traffic backed up for some 7 kilometers as motorists waited for the weather to clear sufficiently so they were not at risk driving.

Bulldozers and cranes were dispatched to the area to help clear the road, with police closing off the on-ramps onto the highway.

Meanwhile in Attica, police closed down several roads due to ice and snow, including the rural road between Elefsina and Dervenohoria south of the capital, Fylis Avenue from the Kleiston Monastery upward to the north, the Pendeli-Nea Makri ring road and the northern part of Parnitha Avenue. There were also problems on the old national highway leading from Thiva to Athens.

Gale-force winds also knocked down trees and damaged electricity lines in Athens's northern suburbs, causing a power outage in Melissia, Anixi and Drosia.

Highways in the Peloponnese were also affected by the freak snow storms that have lashed the country for two successive days, with cars becoming trapped in the mountains of Arcadia.

The cold front is not expected to move on until Sunday.