Greece: Cold snap descends, shutting roads

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) – A cold front has swept over Greece, bringing snow to the capital Athens Monday and disrupting major highways and national roads.

The cold front first arrived on Saturday, reaching the capital in the early hours Monday and forcing authorities to shut down parts of the national highway leading to Central Greece and Thessaloniki.

In parts of the Attica region, according to the police, the use of snow chains is mandatory, especially in the northern suburbs, where snow has covered most roads.

Electricity has also been disrupted in parts of Attica’s northern suburbs.

In other parts of Northern Greece, temperatures reached as low as minus 20 C (minus 4 F).

According to the Athens National Observatory's weather service, the lowest temperatures recorded ranged from minus 19.9 C (minus 3.82 F) at Mesovouno in Kozani all the way to minus 13.7 C (minus 7.34 F) in the city of Florina.

Ships in Greece’s main port Piraeus are docked and not allowed to sail to Crete, the Dodecanese, and Cyclades islands due to gale force winds that reached 9 and 10 on the Beaufort scale.

An emergency meeting to coordinate the response to the extreme weather is underway, chaired by Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis and Deputy Civil Protection and Crisis Management Minister Nikos Hardalias.