The Coral weather has begun its onslaught, with snowfall already being seen in Evia and cold weather in the rest of the country. In fact, according to meteorologists, a significant drop in temperature is expected in the coming days and snow in several areas.

At the same time, the cold invasion will last as the phenomena will affect our country until next Monday. The drop in temperature will be gradual, totaling 8 to 10 degrees Celsius in northern and eastern Greece, with the lowest temperatures recorded over the weekend.

Special bulletin from EMY

EMY has issued an emergency weather bulletin in which it says:

“A gradual deterioration of the weather is forecast from today Wednesday until next Monday in our country and the wider region of southeastern Europe – eastern Mediterranean, with an intense cold wave called Coral.

The drop in temperature will be gradual, in the range of 8 to 10 degrees Celsius overall in northern and eastern Greece, with the lowest temperatures recorded over the weekend.

Gusty northerly winds of 7 and locally 8 Beaufort will prevail in the Aegean Sea, while there will be two disturbances that will affect with snowfall, generally light, mainly the northern, central and eastern mainland as well as the Aegean islands and Crete.

A. Below is a breakdown of the first disturbance in terms of predicted temperatures and snowfall.
TEMPERATURE:

Today (2/19/02)
a) In Macedonia and Thrace up to 06 to 07 and in places in Thessaly up to 08 degrees Celsius.
b) In central and eastern Sterea, Euboea and the northeastern Aegean islands up to 10 to 11 degrees Celsius and in some places in the eastern Peloponnese up to 13 degrees Celsius.

On Thursday (20-02-25)
a) In Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly and the northern Aegean islands from -06 (minus 6) to 06 to 08 degrees Celsius.
b) In central and eastern Sterea, Evia and eastern Peloponnese from -02 (minus 2) to 08 to 09 degrees Celsius.

Friday (21/02)
a) In Macedonia, Thrace and the northern Aegean islands from -07 (minus 7) to 05 to 07 degrees Celsius.
b) In Thessaly, central and eastern Sterea, eastern Peloponnese and Evia from -02 (minus 2) to 07 to 09 degrees Celsius.

The areas where it will snow and when

Today Wednesday (19-02-25)

a) In Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly and the northernmost Aegean islands in the mountains and semi-mountains and locally in areas with lower altitude.
b) In central and eastern Sterea, Euboea and eastern Peloponnese in the mountains and lowlands.
c) In the mountains of Crete from the evening hours.

On Thursday (20-02-25)

a) In central Macedonia, Thessaly, central and eastern Sterea, eastern Peloponnese, Euboea and the islands of the northern Aegean, in the mountains and semi-mountains and locally in areas with lower altitude.
b) In Crete, in the highlands and gradually also in semi-mountainous areas.

Friday (21-02-25)

a) In Macedonia (mainly central), Thessaly, central and eastern Sterea (including Attica), eastern Peloponnese, Evia and the islands of the northern and central Aegean, in the mountains, semi-mountainous areas and locally in areas with lower altitude.
b) In the mountains and semi-mountains of Crete.

B. The second disturbance, which with the current data is passing through our country over the weekend and next Monday, will be analyzed in the coming days.”

Kolydas: Two weather disturbances

EMY director Thodoris Kolydas, in a post with videos showing how the bad weather will move, said there will be two disturbances that will mainly affect the north , central and eastern mainland , as well as the Aegean islands and Crete.

His post

“We will maintain the emergency weather forecast for the next few days as it was yesterday 18/2 , with the main feature being cold weather, with the lowest temperatures recorded over the weekend.
Snowfall , as you can observe in the video below will be generally light and there will be two disturbances affecting mainly the northern, central and eastern mainland , as well as the Aegean islands and Crete. Occasionally in areas of Fthiotida, Boeotia and Evia snowfall today and Friday will be locally to moderate“.

Yannis Kallianos in a post about the cold invasion in our country, analyzed the characteristics of the bad weather.

His post

“The cold invasion that will affect us from next Wednesday, February 19, has certain characteristics that are worth highlighting :
1. It will be a cold invasion during which there will be quite low temperatures, sufficient to produce snowfall at very low altitudes. However, so far, we are missing the possible formation of a barometric low, in the Rhodes area, which could play a key role in snowfall.
2. So there is not enough moisture which would “accompany” this transport of cold air masses of polar origin to make the chances of snowfall very high.

3. However, the temperatures of -12°C and -13°C at 1470-1500 meters altitude that will exist in the northeastern Aegean as these cold masses enter our country, could – together with some other parameters – activate the “Aegean mechanism” and thus create clouds that will approach the areas of Evia and Attica and that will deposit this moisture in the form of snowfall initially in the coastal areas and more inland.

4. This “mechanism”, called in the scientific community the “Aegean Lake Effect” or “Aegean effect snow” is a mechanism that cannot be predicted by forecasting models, or at least cannot be predicted that well. It is a mechanism that, if activated, will expose meteorologists who do not expect much snowfall in Attica, and if not activated, will expose meteorologists who expect good snowfall due to this cause. A difficult situation as you can understand.
5. In this cold invasion, it seems more likely that it will snow for example even briefly near Heraklion, Crete, than in the central parts of the Attica basin. And it is certainly more likely that heavy snowfall will occur on islands in the northeastern, central, and southern Aegean even near the wave, than in southern parts of Attica.
6. In this cold invasion, many mountainous areas (and beyond) will be tested by the cold. For example, it will be as low as -10°C in western Macedonia, but also -14°C to -15°C in mountainous parts of eastern Macedonia. We will also see -6°C to -7°C even in (more mountainous) areas of the central and southern mainland. Farmers should therefore be prepared for an imminent heavy frost even in lowland parts.

7. In Attica I believe that on Wednesday there will be local snowfall in the north of the prefecture above 400 meters, on Thursday above 300 meters, and from Friday onwards even lower (in the north of the prefecture). That is, any surprises in Attica I believe may come mainly on Friday and Saturday or maybe even on Sunday. For all this, I am certainly counting without the “hotelier” which as I said is the “Aegean mechanism”. If it is activated, snowfall in Attica may well be occasionally dense, if not, it will be much more localized and weakened.

8. We didn’t say anything about Thessaloniki. But it’s worth saying since late Tuesday night and into the night into Wednesday, it may snow at least for a short time very close to the city. I have not heard that from anyone. And yet, it could happen.
9. Central Thessaly, Central Sterea Eastern Macedonia, and Thrace will see notable snowfall at the start of the cold invasion, which is mainly on Wednesday, even at fairly low elevations.

10. Either way though, Friday, and Saturday (maybe even Sunday) will be the coldest days of the impending cold invasion.

11. The “Aegean mechanism” will now be seen in observation rather than forecast, i.e. a few hours before it is activated. It would be worth it though, because dense snowfall could occur where we don’t expect it, and in Attica. But the weather has the final say.

12. In Athens, today Tuesday the maximum temperature will reach 14-15°C, Wednesday 11-12°C, Thursday 8-9°C, Friday 7°C and Saturday 5-6°C. In the north of the prefecture, however, the maximum will be 2-3°C lower. As for the minimum temperatures, from Friday onwards there will be even 0°C to -1°C in mainly northern areas of the county“.

The weather forecast for the next few days

Thursday, February 20

Intense cold wave. Local snowfall in the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the eastern part of the country and areas with lower altitudes.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

In the eastern mainland and Aegean clouds with local or sleet. Occasional snowfall, generally light, in the mountains and semi-mountains and areas in the eastern mainland and the northern Aegean with lower altitudes. In the rest of the country a few clouds, locally increasing with a few phenomena in places.
Winds will blow in the west from east 4 to 6 Beaufort and in the east from north 5 to 7 Beaufort.
The temperature will drop slightly further. In the central and northern parts of the country, it will reach up to 06 to 08 degrees Celsius, in the eastern mainland 09 and in the rest of the country 12 to 13 degrees Celsius.
Frost will occur in places on the continent in the morning and evening hours.

Weather Forecast:

Macedonia and Thrace:

• Winds: Northeast winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort, rising to 6 Beaufort in the morning hours in the east, gradually weakening.
• Temperature: Ranges from -6°C to 7°C.

Ionian Islands, Epirus, Western Sterea, and Western Peloponnese:

• Winds: Winds from the east at 3 to 5 Beaufort, locally up to 6 Beaufort in the morning.
• Temperature: From 4°C to 13°C. Interior of Epirus may be 3 to 5 degrees lower.

East Sterea, Evia, and East Peloponnese:

• Winds: Northeastern winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort, reaching up to 6 Beaufort in the east in the morning.
• Temperature: Ranges from -2°C to 8-9°C.

Cyclades and Crete:

• Weather: Snowfall in the mountainous areas of Crete, extending to semi-mountainous areas.
• Winds: Northeastern winds at 6 to 7 Beaufort, possibly reaching 8 Beaufort in the south in the morning.
• Temperature: Ranges from 7°C to 12°C.

East Aegean Islands and Dodecanese:

• Weather: Intermittent clouds, rain, or sleet with occasional snowfall even at lower altitudes.
• Winds: Northerly winds at 6 to 7 Beaufort, possibly up to 8 Beaufort in the morning.
• Temperature: From 4°C to 10°C in the East Aegean islands, 2 to 3 degrees lower in the north.

Thessaly:

• Weather: Light local snowfall even at lower altitudes.
• Winds: Northeastern winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort, up to 6 Beaufort in the morning in the Sporades.
• Temperature: Ranges from -2°C to 8°C.

Attica:

• Winds: Northeastern winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort, up to 7 Beaufort in the morning in the east.
• Temperature: From 1°C to 9°C.

Thessaloniki:

• Weather: Light local snowfall even at lower altitudes.
• Winds: Northeastern winds at 4 to 5 Beaufort, gradually becoming variable up to 4 Beaufort.
• Temperature: From 0°C to 7°C.

Forecast for February 21-24:

• Friday, 21 February: Cloudy weather with rain or sleet in the northern and central regions, with snow falling in low-altitude areas. The temperature will range from 5-7°C in the north, 7-9°C in the center, 10-12°C in the west, and 9-12°C in the southern islands.
• Saturday, 22 February: Light rain or sleet with snow in the mountains. Winds will weaken in the afternoon, and temperatures will remain low, with frost in places.
• Sunday, 23 February: Cloudy conditions with light rain or sleet in most regions, snow in the mountains, and low-altitude areas in the northern and eastern mainland, including Crete. Frost will occur in places on the mainland.
• Monday, 24 February: Increased cloudiness, rain, or sleet across the country, with isolated thunderstorms likely in the west. Snowfall is expected in mountainous areas. The temperature will rise slightly in the west, with frost in the mainland regions.