ClimateGate news

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Heavy snow brings Greece to standstill

How's that "global warming" thing working out in the Greek Isles?

A raging snow storm that blanketed most of Greece over the weekend also continued into the early morning hours on Monday, plunging the country into sub-zero temperatures. Public transport buses were at a standstill on Monday in the wider Athens area, while ships remained in ports, public services remained closed, and schools and courthouses in the more severely-stricken prefectures were also closed. Scores of villages, mainly on the island of Crete, and in the prefectures of Evia, Argolida, Arcadia, Lakonia, Viotia, and the Cyclades islands were snowed in.

(...)

Although the airport reopened at 3:00 a.m., and snow plows were working continuously to keep runways open, scores of flights were cancelled due to low visibility and hazardous conditions at other domestic destination airports. According to the AIA, 461 flights (incoming and outgoing) are scheduled for Monday, but airlines had already cancelled 64 flights as of 10:00 a.m., and passengers are advised to contact their airline.

(...)

Meanwhile, more than 100 villages were snowed-in on the island of Crete -- 54 in Chania prefecture, 26 in Iraklion prefecture, 19 in Lasithi prefecture, and 5 in Rethymno prefecture -- as wel as 25 villages in Evia, 15 in Argolida, 3 in Arcadia, 9 in Lakonia, 2 in Viotia, and 4 in the Cyclades prefecture.

Temperatures in Athens dropped to -6C before dawn, while the coldest temperatures were recorded in Kozani, Grevena, Kastoria and Florina, where they plunged to -12C.

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