Greece faces storms and flood risk from Sunday, with Monday and Tuesday the worst

Friday and Saturday: unsettled but mostly mild

On Friday, 23 October, forecasts expect local rain and a few thunderstorms, mainly in the east, while other areas see periods of improvement. Temperatures should reach 24 to 26 degrees Celsius in several areas, and humid air is expected to stay in place. Attica is forecast between 15 and 25 degrees with northwesterly winds of 2 to 4 Beaufort, while Thessaloniki sees 13 to 23 degrees and some morning showers that ease by midday. Early-morning fog and limited visibility are possible in places, and winds reach 5 Beaufort locally. On Saturday, 24 October, the weather is expected to stay generally good, with thin clouds and only scattered local showers, while winds ease and temperatures dip slightly.

Storm system arrives from the west on Sunday

According to ERT meteorologist Giorgos Emmanouil, the storm will start in western Greece and spread from there. From midday on Sunday, 25 October, rain and locally strong thunderstorms are expected in the west, led by the Ionian, the western mainland with emphasis on Epirus, western Sterea and the western Peloponnese. By evening the system should reach central and eastern Sterea and the southern mainland, and rain is expected in Attica from midday. Forecasters say a cooler air mass comes with the system after the warm air retreats from Saturday. Temperatures are expected to drop by roughly 4 to 6 degrees by Sunday.

Monday and Tuesday flagged as the most dangerous days

Klearchos Marousakis, a meteorologist, names Monday, 26 October, and Tuesday, 27 October, as the two most dangerous days. Rain and storms are expected mainly in central, eastern and southern Greece, including Attica, Evia, southern Thessaly, the Peloponnese, the Cyclades, Crete, the Dodecanese and the eastern Aegean. He said the system will deliver heavy rain and that there is a risk of flood episodes. The NewsIT forecast puts the Cyclades and Crete under particular watch, with the phenomena expected to be strongest there on Monday. The EMY outlook adds that from Monday the storms become more intense in places, with a slight drop in temperature.

Forecasts differ on the end date

NewsIT reports that the bad weather is expected to last until Wednesday, 28 October, with rain continuing in some areas. In.gr gives a different picture for that day, stating that the system is confined to eastern and southern sea areas on 28 October. Both reports stress that the evolution depends on how the system moves over the coming days. The forecasts available so far place the heaviest rain on Monday and Tuesday, 26 and 27 October.