Low temperatures that are below seasonal levels are expected also today with snow in areas over 450 metres while there is possibility of snow also at lower altitudes from Sunday when another cold front is expected to affect the area, according to the Director of the Cyprus Meteorological Service, Dr. Kleanthis Nicolaides.
Nicolaides told CNA that temperatures during the day are expected to be below seasonal average, at around 9 degrees Celsius inland, 11 in the coastal areas and minus 2 in the higher mountainous areas.
“This means that several mountainous areas that are over 900 metres will be in freezing conditions, meaning that the temperature will not rise above zero degrees Celsius for the next 24 hours”, he added.
According to Nicolaides, tonight will also be very cold with temperatures close to zero degrees inland, around 3C to 4C in the coastal areas and minus 8 in the higher mountainous areas.
“As you can imagine conditions will be difficult for mountainous communities also due to the temperature, frost and slippery roads,” he said.
There might be snow today, and tonight in areas that are over 450 to 500 metres, he added.
The temperature will start warming up on Thursday and Friday and is to reach seasonal levels, but, according to Nicolaides, another cold front is expected from Sunday or Monday “and, in that case, there could be snow or sleet also in lower altitude areas”, that are below 450 to 500 metres.
At the Troodos Square snow reached 26 centimeters at around 8:00am on Wednesday, which means, he said, that more than 17cm of fresh snow was added since Tuesday morning. Snow in the Mount Olympos area was much higher, he said.
Replying to a question about yesterday’s strong winds, he said they were southwesterly and reached gale force 8 to 9 locally. “Such intensity was recorded in the Akamas area, while on the south coast, speeds of up to 6 on the Beaufort scale were recorded,” he said, adding that winds of such intensity are very strong and can cause problems. Northerly winds of weaker intensity have been blowing since midnight, he added, hence the cold front currently affecting the area.
