30 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

3 degrees at the moment, but it dropped to 1,1 at some point today 🥶🥶
The precipitation was mostly sleet, no snow accumulation though.

I am worrying about my plants! (Last year they survived, but let's see this year)

Here's the weather: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IMARAT9

Mostly sleet also in the port of Piraeus , Faliro and most of coastal Athens with only brief change to snow and no snow accumulation. I doubt this event can somehow affect plants

Edited February 6, 20233 yr by Manos33

12 hours ago, Manos33 said:

Mostly sleet also in the port of Piraeus , Faliro and most of coastal Athens with only brief change to snow and no snow accumulation. I doubt this event can somehow affect plants

The southern suburbs and the centre of Athens got hit hard this time; on some days even harder than east Attica (Nea Makri - Rafina - Nea Styra and Dikastika). I've been watching them closely since Sunday.

12 hours ago, Manos33 said:

I doubt this event can somehow affect plants

Only the very tropicals. Plants like bananas will be fine (maybe even no damage at all).
Still, it doesn't mean the very tropical ones will die, just a lot of foliage burn

On 1/29/2023 at 10:22 PM, Manos33 said:

@Victor G.

Monemvasia is already 11a considering it did not fall below 9.2C in January and next week's cold snap seems to not affect it particularly (provided it does not fall below 5.1C ) 

It's therefore the only area of continental Greece according to NOA stations with an 11a zone and with 16 years worth of data!

Unfortunately Greece can get hit with worse cold spells in February or even March (like in 2022) than it can in January. Right now at 14:00 local time, the temperature in Monemvasia is only 4.2ºC so since it felt under 5.1ºC makes it 10b again? https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/monemvasia/ It's very rare to see such a low temp at this hour. 

But Monemvasia is an island I think, because it's not naturally connected to the mainland, it is connected because of that road/bridge. 

Looking at photos and satellite images seems to be an island. https://www.mygreekodyssey.com/2022/02/10/monemvasia-the-fortress-island/

3 hours ago, Victor G. said:

The southern suburbs and the centre of Athens got hit hard this time; on some days even harder than east Attica (Nea Makri - Rafina - Nea Styra and Dikastika). I've been watching them closely since Sunday.

Yes it's something unbelievable, I have never thought Athens would have snow 3 years in a row... 2021 2022 2023 did this even happen again back in history? I don't think so!!!

5 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

Unfortunately Greece can get hit with worse cold spells in February or even March (like in 2022) than it can in January. Right now at 14:00 local time, the temperature in Monemvasia is only 4.2ºC so since it felt under 5.1ºC makes it 10b again? https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/monemvasia/ It's very rare to see such a low temp at this hour. 

It's these darn northern winds, that keep the temperatures extremely low.

4 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

Yes it's something unbelievable, I have never thought Athens would have snow 3 years in a row... 2021 2022 2023 did this even happen again back in history? I don't think so!!!

I don't like where the winters are going. I think we're headed maybe for even worse winters in the future.

I grew up and lived in Cholargos and we didn't get snow every winter. We got every two or three winters a snowy day (or two) and with around 5-20cm of snow.

The last three years it has snowed every winter in cholargos, with snow accumulation over 40cm. And it snowed for 2-3 days, in contrast to the past, where it only snowed for one night

26 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

It's these darn northern winds, that keep the temperatures extremely low.

I don't like where the winters are going. I think we're headed maybe for even worse winters in the future.

I grew up and lived in Cholargos and we didn't get snow every winter. We got every two or three winters a snowy day (or two) and with around 5-20cm of snow.

The last three years it has snowed every winter in cholargos, with snow accumulation over 40cm. And it snowed for 2-3 days, in contrast to the past, where it only snowed for one night

The winters here usually are milder but the polar vortex seems less stable. There is even a possibility now the portal vortex could reverse at the end of the month, this is getting ridiculous how bad this winter has been. It's been extremely mild or extremely cold complete opposites. As much as we are extremely mild for our latitude I wish there were a few mountains here blocking northern and easterly winds.

40 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

It's been extremely mild or extremely cold complete opposites.

I'm assuming you're talking about London, right? How's the weather up there, anyway?
For us it was the same. Super mild January, but also super cold February.

The cold wave is supposed to weaken from tomorrow, but we're not out of the woods yet. February has a long way to go.

6 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

Unfortunately Greece can get hit with worse cold spells in February or even March (like in 2022) than it can in January. Right now at 14:00 local time, the temperature in Monemvasia is only 4.2ºC so since it felt under 5.1ºC makes it 10b again? https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/monemvasia/ It's very rare to see such a low temp at this hour. 

Yeah, it's still in the 10b zone. It was since last year (I think) where it dropped to 10b from 11a

49 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

I'm assuming you're talking about London, right? How's the weather up there, anyway?
For us it was the same. Super mild January, but also super cold February.

The cold wave is supposed to weaken from tomorrow, but we're not out of the woods yet. February has a long way to go.

We had our coldest night since the 1980s a few weeks ago but despite that at least for central London it only dropped to around 28-30f. We are having a colder period here but the extremely cold air has gone you're way instead of heading towards here. Despite the colder air it's been sunny so the temperatures are around 11-13c during the day and 3c at night this week. Next week it's supposed to be mild again highs around 13-14c with lows of 7-8c. Uncertainty at the end of the month, it could be mild or it could be extremely cold. Hopefully the arctic air stays where it belongs, in the arctic. The weather has been very sunny here recently.

Edited February 7, 20233 yr by Foxpalms

10 hours ago, Victor G. said:

The southern suburbs and the centre of Athens got hit hard this time; on some days even harder than east Attica (Nea Makri - Rafina - Nea Styra and Dikastika). I've been watching them closely since Sunday.

I was referring to coastal areas. The southern suburbs include also areas such as Ilioupoli close to Ymittos mountain which at times can even beat the northern suburbs!

We need to be careful when we talk about ''southern suburbs'' because Athens is like huge!

Here is the port of Piraeus yesterday morning at the peak of the cold snap. Absolutely nothing! Sleet and only briefly snow which did not settle anywhere!

 

7 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

Unfortunately Greece can get hit with worse cold spells in February or even March (like in 2022) than it can in January. Right now at 14:00 local time, the temperature in Monemvasia is only 4.2ºC so since it felt under 5.1ºC makes it 10b again? https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/monemvasia/ It's very rare to see such a low temp at this hour. 

Yep, I was calculating up to January when it was 11a. It actually dropped to 3.9C so it's back to 10b but only marginally!

7 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

But Monemvasia is an island I think, because it's not naturally connected to the mainland, it is connected because of that road/bridge. 

Looking at photos and satellite images seems to be an island. https://www.mygreekodyssey.com/2022/02/10/monemvasia-the-fortress-island/

Actually it's a natural tombolo. These land formations are called tied islands and they are part of the mainland

The concrete was added back in the 19th century for the first time to reinforce the tombolo.

7 hours ago, Greek Exotics said:

Yes it's something unbelievable, I have never thought Athens would have snow 3 years in a row... 2021 2022 2023 did this even happen again back in history? I don't think so!!!

Snowing 3,4 or even 5 years on a row is common in Athens (ranging from sleet to slight snow accumulation on trees etc)! What is not common is settled snow everywhere on the ground!

The center of Athens did not see settled snow on the roads so far this year so it doesn't count as three times on a row!

But two years on the row 2021/2022 settled snow on the ground has never happened in the past!

Edited February 7, 20233 yr by Manos33

16 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

I was referring to coastal areas. The southern suburbs include also areas such as Ilioupoli close to Ymittos mountain which at times can even beat the northern suburbs!

Yeah, that's what I meant; the coastal areas. So far only rain and sleet in Dikastika too. But it seems the temperatures are dropping again below 2C tonight, so I'm starting to worry

17 minutes ago, Victor G. said:

Yeah, that's what I meant; the coastal areas. So far only rain and sleet in Dikastika too. But it seems the temperatures are dropping again below 2C tonight, so I'm starting to worry

Well, in that case the coastal areas of Athens were not hit hard. Snow did not settle almost anywhere from Piraeus to Faliro on the coast. In fact it was sleet most of the times briefly changing to snow.

Tonight will be crucial if precipitation is enough snow might just settle even in coastal areas!

Edited February 7, 20233 yr by Manos33

29 minutes ago, Manos33 said:

Well, in that case the coastal areas of Athens were not hit hard. Snow did not settle almost anywhere from Piraeus to Faliro on the coast. In fact it was sleet most of the times briefly changing to snow.

Tonight will be crucial if precipitation is enough snow might just settle even in coastal areas!

I mean temperature wise. Many of them saw low night temperatures (close to 1C) but also low day temperatures

1 minute ago, Victor G. said:

I mean temperature wise. Many of them saw low night temperatures (close to 1C) but also low day temperatures

Faliro NOA dropped to 1.2C so it actually beat your station

But yeah temperature wise most coastal areas dropped between 0.7C to 1.2C at the peak of the cold spell. 

Mine dropped to 0,9 some minutes ago. Help!

I'll have to find a church and pray!

 

Just now, Victor G. said:

Mine dropped to 0,9 some minutes ago. Help!

I'll have to find a church and pray!

The Davis station in Glyfada Golf also dropped to 0.9C at the peak of the cold snap! 

It's amazing that Dikastika actually ties coastal Glyfada...I would have never thought you have such a mild climate that you can actually have a head on comparison with the Athens Riviera...

1 minute ago, Manos33 said:

 

The Davis station in Glyfada Golf also dropped to 0.9C at the peak of the cold snap! 

It's amazing that Dikastika actually ties coastal Glyfada...I would have never thought you have such a mild climate that you can actually have a head on comparison with the Athens Riviera...

Let's see how it goes. Right now the Athens Riviera is 1-1,5 degrees warmer than Dikastika. But it's funny how every cold spell affects different areas differently.

For example Nea Styra, despite being coastal, usually sees big temperature drops (probably from the Evia mountains). This time however, it's in much better fate than Dikastika or Nea Makri 

Below the timelapse for the center of Athens in Omonoia (50m altitude) 

 Omonoia traditionally gets even less with only minor dusting on the grass. 

Omonoia 

 

Edited February 8, 20233 yr by Manos33

And here is Syntagma at 100m altitude which traditionally gets a bit more snow than Omonoia. During the peak of the cold snap it received a short-lived dusting in trees but not on the streets. It only lasted a couple of hours before melting.

 

 

Edited February 8, 20233 yr by Manos33

3 hours ago, Manos33 said:

And here is Syntagma at 100m altitude which traditionally gets a bit more snow than Omonoia. During the peak of the cold snap it received a short-lived dusting in trees but not on the streets. It only lasted a couple of hours before melting.

 

 

This is the old king palace. Do you know the story of the selection of this particular spot for the building of the palace? Perhaps the selection method can explain why this location is colder than Omonoia.

2 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

This is the old king palace. Do you know the story of the selection of this particular spot for the building of the palace? Perhaps the selection method can explain why this location is colder than Omonoia.

Its only because of higher elevation and the proximity to orographic precipitation coming from Immitos mountain

On 2/7/2023 at 8:38 PM, Victor G. said:

Yeah, it's still in the 10b zone. It was since last year (I think) where it dropped to 10b from 11a

Now that the cold snap has passed Kasos registered a low of 8.0C so far in 2023, Kastelorizo went down to 7.2C and the Port of Rhodes dipped to 5.9C

The 8.0C absolute low in Kasos so far is the highest for 2023 in Greece. 

Below is a list of the stations from the  National Observatory of Athens which present a hot semi-arid BSh climate. Most of them are in Athens Riviera. Tropical plants in these areas will need for sure extra care and more irrigation to survive.

In total 38 meteorological stations from Greece fall under the hot semi-arid BSh climate (data until March 2023).

https://www.meteo.gr/Monthly_Bulletins.cfm

Here also a map of these locations for better visualisation 

 

Edited April 16, 20233 yr by Manos33

Here is the map zoomed for better visualization 

6 hours ago, Manos33 said:

I'm surprised Amorgos isn't on the top ten list.

I once walked from the monastery Hozoviotissa to Egiali, which is almost the half the island. You can not imagine how dry the path was. At some point you couldn't even find those small dried out bushes you can find everywhere in Greece 

6 hours ago, Victor G. said:

I'm surprised Amorgos isn't on the top ten list.

I once walked from the monastery Hozoviotissa to Egiali, which is almost the half the island. You can not imagine how dry the path was. At some point you couldn't even find those small dried out bushes you can find everywhere in Greece 

The reason Amorgos missed the Top 10 is that in 2019 (which was a record breaking year in terms of precipitation for most of Greece) it registered a whooping 915 mm of rain!!!

Edited April 18, 20233 yr by Manos33

On 8/15/2022 at 5:48 PM, Phoenikakias said:

Bonus picture from facebook. A Ficus lyrata  purportedly growing in Vouliagmeni. I have read that this sp instead can not grow on long term in New Smyrna.

Is this real? There is a Lyrata this big and this big growing in Attica?

Just now, ego said:

Is this real? There is a Lyrata this big and this big growing in Attica?

There is also a fruiting Papaya tree in Ano Voula. 

Just now, Phoenikakias said:

There is also a fruiting Papaya tree in Ano Voula. 

I have seen many fruiting papayas in Greece but lyratas drop all their leaves for the slightest reason. Mine dropped them all twice: once because I repotted it and once in the winter (I kept it outdoors).

9 hours ago, Victor G. said:

I'm surprised Amorgos isn't on the top ten list.

I once walked from the monastery Hozoviotissa to Egiali, which is almost the half the island. You can not imagine how dry the path was. At some point you couldn't even find those small dried out bushes you can find everywhere in Greece 

Minor correction in the Top 10 list as I forgot to put Piraeus who records a mere 317.1 mm average annual precipitation

Which goes to show once again how dry the Athens Riviera can be. It already has 2 stations in the Top 10 driest areas of Greece. 

Tropicals in the Athens Riviera will need a lot of irrigation if they are to survive. That's for sure...

Edited April 18, 20233 yr by Manos33

3 hours ago, ego said:

Is this real? There is a Lyrata this big and this big growing in Attica?

I have found and seen it myself. It is on Alkyonidon str.

1 minute ago, Phoenikakias said:

I have found and seen it myself. It is on Alkyonidon str.

Jesus... What's its secret?

4 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

I have found and seen it myself. It is on Alkyonidon str.

in Voula?

15 minutes ago, ego said:

in Voula?

I am not sure, because I do not know the precise limits of Voula, but I think it is rather Vouliagmeni.  My mistake, the str is called Νηριήδων. You may see plant in street view. The papaya tree is on the Palaeologou str in Ano Voula.

Edited April 18, 20233 yr by Phoenikakias