Severe weather front to hit Greece from Thursday to Saturday - Warnings to citizens

The Mediterranean Cyclone (or medicane, as it is called) is already in the Central Mediterranean and yesterday affected the southern part of Italy, with rain levels approaching 600 mm.

From today until Saturday, it is expected to hit Greece as well, with the state mechanism warning the citizens about very extreme weather phenomena. Characteristically, very strong thunderstorms are expected, a large volume of rain, but also stormy winds that will reach up to 11 Beaufort, as meteorologist G. Kallianos mentioned yesterday!

According to meteo.gr, the main characteristics of "Ianos" will be the heavy rainfall, especially in the Ionian and the southern mainland parts of the country, the thunderstorms in places and the very stormy winds, especially in sea parts, where they may reach storm levels.

Winds of 265 kilometers in the Mediterranean Cyclone
Early in the morning, one of the world models showed that the Mediterranean Cyclone was moving towards Greece at a very high speed. As the MetDesk graph shows, the winds in the eye of the cyclone are moving at 265 kilometers per hour, having approached Western Greece significantly. 

Where will the bad weather hit first - The appeals by deputy minister Hardalias

The Mediterranean Cyclone is expected to make its first appearance in the Ionian Islands and the Western Peloponnese. In fact, as Mr. Hardalias said, the effects will be "strong and long lasting".

The areas that "Ianos" is expected to hit first are:

Zakynthos
Kefalonia
Ithaca
Ilia
Messinia

Then the bad weather is expected to move east and hit the following prefectures on Friday:

Achaia
Arcadia
Argolis
Boeotia
Etoloakarnania
Φωκίδα
Attica
Euboea

On Saturday there is a possibility that the phenomena will hit Crete and the Cyclades, but until last night the meteorologists were cautious, as the Mediterranean Cyclone continued to swirl, but there were deviations in its movement to the east.

The Deputy Minister for Civil Protection gave important instructions to the citizens of these areas, in order to avoid any unpleasant problems. After calling them to be vigilant, he asked them to emphasize the following:

• Those who are in areas that have been flooded in the past or near rivers, streams or shores, avoid staying in basements, semi-basements and ground floors.
• Consider not staying at home and staying with relatives or friends.
• Avoid any unnecessary movement during severe weather.
• Secure the doors and windows tightly, always keeping in mind in case of torrents to move to the highest points of the house.
• Do not cross torrents, streams or flooded roads for any reason. Either on foot or by vehicle. For no reason.