The peak of Greece’s summer exodus is unfolding today, with thousands of vacationers flooding the country’s ports, especially Piraeus, where traffic has been intense since Thursday. Despite rain and storms disrupting many areas yesterday, holidaymakers are not letting the weather change their plans.

Traffic around Piraeus port, as shown on Google Maps, has been in the red since early Friday morning.

Ferries are departing one after another, packed with passengers and vehicles, with occupancy rates nearing 100%. According to ferry companies and port authorities, the peak travel period is expected today and over the weekend of August 2–3, marking the start of the first wave of August vacations.

However, the unsettled weather will continue into early August, with strong northerly winds reaching up to 7 Beaufort, and isolated showers expected in several regions.

Weather Forecast Summary:

• Morning instability will be limited to central/eastern Macedonia, Thrace, northern Aegean, Sporades, parts of Crete, eastern Thessaly, and Evia.
• By midday and afternoon, showers are expected in Peloponnese, Central Greece, Attica (mainly north), Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace.
• Improvement expected in the evening.

Winds:

• The Meltemi will remain strong in the northeastern Aegean, Sporades, Cyclades, Dodecanese, Crete, and eastern mainland, reaching 4–6 Beaufort, and locally up to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean.

Record Rainfall & Lightning Activity

On Thursday, July 31, 2025, local storms and heavy rain hit central and northern Greece. According to the National Observatory of Athens / meteo.gr, the highest rainfall was recorded in Eptalofos, Kilkis, with 94.8 mm.

In total, over 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded by the European Meteosat-12 satellite, including cloud-to-ground, intra-cloud, and cloud-to-air discharges.

Today’s Detailed Weather (Friday, August 1)

• Northern Aegean: Strong early storms, weakening by midday.
• Mainland: Afternoon thunderstorms expected.
• Western Crete: Possible light showers in the morning.

Temperatures:

• Western Macedonia: 12–29°C
• Rest of Macedonia & Thrace: 14–33/35°C
• Thessaly: 15–33°C
• Epirus: 13–33°C
• Western Greece: 13–32°C
• Other mainland areas: 12–32°C
• Ionian Islands: 20–30/31°C
• Aegean islands & Crete: 18–31/33°C

Winds:

• Ionian: NW winds, 4–5 Beaufort
• Aegean: N-NW winds, 5–6, locally 7 Beaufort

Regional Forecasts

Athens:

• Cloudy with local showers, especially in northern suburbs.
• Winds: North, 4–5 Beaufort, up to 6 Beaufort in the east.
• Temperature: 25–32°C

Thessaloniki:

• Partly cloudy, chance of showers in the hills.
• Winds: Light, 2–3 Beaufort
• Temperature: 23–30/31°C

Saturday, August 2

• Sporades & Evia: Morning clouds, possible light showers.
• Elsewhere: Clear in the morning; afternoon clouds with local showers, mostly in mountain areas of central and northern Greece.

Winds: N–NW

• West: 3–5 Beaufort
• East: 4–6, Aegean up to 7 Beaufort

Temperature: No significant change

• Mainland: 31–35°C
• Islands: 29–32°C, Crete up to 33°C

Sunday, August 3

• Generally clear weather.
• Afternoon clouds and isolated mountain showers (except Thrace).

Winds: N–NW, 3–5 Beaufort, Aegean up to 6 Beaufort

Temperature: Slight rise expected.