Dramatic Warning: Difficult 24 Hours Ahead with Gale-Force Winds

The central, eastern, and southern Aegean Sea are experiencing exceptionally strong "meltemi" winds, reaching 8 to 9 Beaufort, with gusts exceeding 9 Beaufort in many areas. Meteorologist Klearchos Marousakis of OPEN explained that these winds become "katabatic" as they move inland over Greece's mountainous terrain. This interaction intensifies them, making them particularly hot and dry as they descend.

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These winds, as they move inland – towards the central, eastern, and southern parts of the country, as well as western mainland Greece – act as 'katabatic' winds.

Marousakis warned that these gale-force winds are expected to persist until Sunday afternoon. While their intensity will gradually decrease and become more confined to the interior of the Aegean, the next 24 hours are predicted to remain challenging. For Saturday, the winds will continue to be strong, ranging from 7 to 8 Beaufort, and reaching 9 Beaufort in places.

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This means they interact with the mountainous masses of western mainland Greece, Attica-Viotia, eastern and southern Peloponnese, resulting in significant intensification and becoming particularly hot and dry.

The gale-force winds are forecast to primarily impact the central Aegean and eastern mainland regions, including Evia, Attica-Viotia, eastern and southern Peloponnese, and Crete. In these areas, the katabatic winds could reach up to 10 Beaufort. The forecast indicates a difficult 24-hour period ahead due to these severe weather conditions.

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The picture of extremely gale-force winds is expected to continue until Sunday afternoon.