Severe cold grips Greece, heavy rain and snow expected midweek

Greece is experiencing a spell of severe cold, with frost affecting northern regions and temperatures remaining unusually low nationwide, meteorologists said on Monday. The chill has been intensified by strong northerly winds, making conditions feel colder than recorded values.

Temperatures dropped as low as minus 8 degrees Celsius in northeastern areas, while widespread frost was reported across northern Greece. In Athens, highs in northern suburbs reached only around 6 degrees Celsius.

The cold wave is expected to peak on Monday, before a gradual temperature rise begins on Tuesday as warmer air moves in. However, the weather will deteriorate sharply midweek, with strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for much of the country on Tuesday and especially Wednesday.

Meteorologists warn of intense rainfall in central and southern Greece, heavy snowfall in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the mainland, and gale-force winds reaching up to 9 Beaufort in parts of the Ionian Sea and the Aegean. Western Macedonia, Thessaly, Central Greece and the Peloponnese are expected to see significant snowfall, while flooding risks are elevated in Attica on Wednesday.

Authorities have urged caution, particularly for travel to mountainous areas, as hazardous conditions and possible snowstorms are expected over the coming days.

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace outlook

Cloudy conditions are expected in western and central Macedonia, with local rain or sleet and snowfall in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. Elsewhere, skies will be partly cloudy, gradually clearing from midday. Easterly to northeasterly winds will blow at 4–6 Beaufort, locally up to 7 at sea. Temperatures will range from -2 to 7 degrees Celsius, with western Macedonia 2–3 degrees colder.

Forecast for Tuesday, January 20, 2026:

In southern parts of central Macedonia, Thessaly, the Sporades, northern Aegean islands, Evia, eastern Central Greece, the Peloponnese, the Ionian Sea, the Cyclades and Crete, increased cloud cover will bring local rain, with rain or sleet in northern areas. Weather systems will spread to most mainland regions by evening, except eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

Snowfall is expected in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the mainland, as well as in the mountains of Evia and Crete, with stronger phenomena overnight in western regions. Elsewhere, thin cloud cover will gradually thicken.

Winds will be easterly to northeasterly, reaching 6–8 Beaufort in western areas and locally 9 in the southwest, while eastern regions will see winds of 5–7 Beaufort. Temperatures will remain largely unchanged, reaching 7–8 degrees in northern mainland areas, 10–12 in central and southern regions, 11–13 in island and western mainland areas, and up to 15–16 degrees Celsius locally in Crete, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Morning and evening frost is expected across the mainland, locally severe in the north.