Weather: where there will be thunderstorms and hailstorms today – Over 31,000 thunderbolts fell yesterday

Light showers and thunderstorms in the west, central and north, locally accompanied by high frequency thunderstorms and localized hailstorms are also forecast today, according to the updated Emergency Weather Bulletin Weather issued on 08/19/2024.

More detailed:

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are forecast:
a. In the early morning hours in the northern Ionian Sea (mainly in the area of Lefkada and Kefalonia), in western Central Greece and Epirus

b. From the morning hours in central and eastern Macedonia and possibly in the northern parts of Thessaly, gradually weakening from the afternoon.

The director of EMY, Thodoris Kolydas, had also warned about the locally high rapidity of the phenomena.

Ο ΥΕΤΟΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΙΣ ΕΠΟΜΕΝΕΣ ΗΜΕΡΕΣ
Τα ύψη υετού ανά 6ωρο , τα οποία δεν είναι ιδιαίτερα υψηλά για το διήμερο ισχύος του εκτάκτου Δελτίου, αλλά η ραγδαιότητα των φαινομένων τοπικά θα είναι μεγάλη . #έκτακτο #καταιγίδες@EMY_HNMS @CivPro_GR @Vkikilias @pyrosvestiki@Starchannelnew1 pic.twitter.com/Cz2mhoHV3V

— Theodoros Kolydas (@KolydasT) August 19, 2024

Electrical activity in Greece was extremely intense yesterday, especially in the west where we had rainfall and damages.

Thousands of lightning strikes in a few hours

Data from meteo.gr’s third-generation European meteorological satellite MTG-I1, which carries an instrument that records electrical discharges (lightning and thunderstorms) in near-real time, show that 31,828 discharges were recorded on Monday, around 18:400.

Of these, 3,906 were over land and 27,922 over the sea, mostly in the Ionian region, as shown on the map. Activity was intense in the Volos area, northern Evia and parts of the Peloponnese.

Meanwhile, the network of automatic weather stations of meteo.gr / National Observatory of Athens showed that the highest amount of rain until about 19:00 on Monday was recorded in Paxos and was equal to 45 millimetres.

Severe weather in the west

Heavy rains with lightning phenomena occurred yesterday in Corfu causing many problems for residents as well as flooded manholes in the streets, while the city centre was without power from 8am. According to the crews of DEDDIE, the outage was caused by lightning.

Watch video:

Due to the power cuts, several traffic lights were put out of operation.

There were also problems in flights with delays and cancellations due to the large amount of lightning yesterday morning. Two flights were unable to land. The first from Frankfurt, which made a temporary diversion at Preveza airport and returned to Corfu at 10:22, while the second from the Czech Republic, which returned to Athens.

In northern Corfu, a fire broke out in a tree in Avliotes from falling lightning.

Heavy rainfall and snowfall also caused problems in northern Greece. Roads turned into rivers, crops were damaged and the fire brigade received dozens of calls to cut down trees and pump water while workers at catering outlets tried to keep the water out of businesses. In fact, videos were posted on social media from Veroia, Kilkis, Thessaloniki, Yannitsa, Giannitsa, Tyrnavos, Imathia, Kozani, Pella, Giannina and Corinthia.

From Veria:

Flooding and damage from sudden storm in Ioannina – DEI column fell on apartment balcony

Streets turned into rivers, cars stalled in the middle of the road, roofs ripped off by the strong winds, trees falling on the pavement are some of the problems brought by the powerful storm that hit the city of Ioannina, causing flooding in homes located in low-lying areas of the city.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday, the city was hit by torrential rain and hailstorms.

The biggest problems were on Archbishop Makarios, Voyannou and Garivaldi streets. While suburbs such as Perama and Neochoropoulos were also affected.

The abrupt change in the weather has already been noticed by those in the north-northwestern part of the country and in areas such as Kilkis, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, where intense weather phenomena with rain, storms and hail occurred. Roads turned into rivers, crops were damaged and the fire brigade received dozens of calls for tree felling and water pumping.

The strong winds caused tree branches to break off and fall into the road while the fire brigade received several calls for pumping water from basements and cutting down trees. Within a few minutes streets turned into rivers, while due to the volume of water that fell, the traffic of vehicles is being handled with great care, as reported by epiruspost.

Roof section detached and ended up on parked vehicles

A large section of a roof detached from a building on Tekmonos Street, in the area of Votanikos which ended up on parked vehicles and the roadway.

A DEI pole ended up on the… balcony of an apartment.

Today’s weather

At first, sporadic showers and thunderstorms are expected mainly in Macedonia and the northern Ionian Sea. Gradually the phenomena will intensify and will affect the rest of the mainland and the Ionian Sea, but it is noted that in Thrace and the Peloponnese they will be fewer and weaker. There is a possibility of hail mainly for the central, western and northern continents and the Ionian Sea. Weakening of the phenomena is expected after the afternoon with the exception of the eastern parts of Thessaly and the western parts of Central Macedonia. Dust concentrations in the atmosphere will be relatively increased.

The temperature in Western Macedonia will range from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius, in the rest of Macedonia and Thrace from 21 to 35, in Thessaly from 22 to 37, in Epirus and Western Central Greece from 19 to 33, in the rest of Central Greece from 23 to 37, in the Peloponnese from 18 to 35, in the Ionian Islands from 22 to 30, in the North and East Aegean Islands from 20 to 37 and in the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and Crete from 20 to 35 degrees Celsius.

The winds in the North Aegean will blow from east to south directions from 2 to 4 Beaufort. In the Central Aegean the winds will initially blow from variable directions up to 3 Beaufort but from midday they will become south 3 to 5 Beaufort. In the South Aegean Sea the winds will blow from westerly directions up to 3 Beaufort but from the morning they will increase and become westerly 3 to 5 Beaufort. In the Ionian Sea the winds will initially blow from southern directions up to 3 Beaufort, at noon they will shift to westerly 2 to 4 Beaufort and towards the evening they will become north-westerly of the same intensity.

FORECAST FOR TOMORROW WEDNESDAY 21-08-2024

We are expecting a forecast for tomorrow, Tuesday 21-08-2024

Clear weather in most areas with local clouds in the Ionian Sea, the western mainland, eastern Macedonia and in places in the Aegean Sea, where light local rainfall is possible. In the midday-afternoon hours clouds will develop in the rest of the continent and in Crete where local rain or rain and isolated thunderstorms, possibly heavy in places, are expected in the region of central and eastern Macedonia.
Improvement is expected from the evening hours throughout the country.
Visibility in the west will be limited in the morning hours.
Winds will blow west northwest 4 to 5 Beaufort, locally 6 Beaufort in the sea.
The temperature will not change significantly. It will reach 34 to 35 degrees Celsius on the mainland and 27 to 31 degrees Celsius on the islands.

FORECAST FOR THURSDAY 22-08-2024
Generally clear weather. In the midday and afternoon hours in the continental areas will develop occasional clouds and local rain or isolated thunderstorms mainly in the mountains.
The winds will blow north-northwest 3 to 5 and in the Aegean Sea locally 6 Beaufort.
The temperature will rise slightly on the mainland.

FORECAST FOR FRIDAY 23-08-2024
Generally clear weather, with occasional clouds in the midday and afternoon hours on the mainland, mainly in the mountains.
Winds will blow north-northwest, in the Ionian Sea and the west up to 4 Beaufort and in the Aegean Sea 4 to 5 and locally 6 Beaufort.
The temperature will rise slightly further.

FORECAST FOR SATURDAY 24-08-2024
Generally clear weather, with occasional clouds in the midday and afternoon hours on the mainland, mainly in the mountains.
Winds will blow north-northwest 3 to 5 Beaufort and in the Aegean Sea locally 6 to 7 Beaufort.
The temperature will not change significantly.

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