First Winter Snow Transforms Greek Mountain Resorts

The news in Greek

1. χιόνι  (n.)
   λευκό, παγωμένο νερό που πέφτει από τον ουρανό όταν κάνει πολύ κρύο ↩︎
2. χιονοδρομικό
   που έχει σχέση με το σκι και άλλες δραστηριότητες στο χιόνι ↩︎
3. ορεινός
   που βρίσκεται στα βουνά ή είναι κοντά στα βουνά ↩︎
4. τουρισμός  (m.)
   τα ταξίδια και οι διακοπές σε άλλα μέρη για ξεκούραση ή γνωριμία ↩︎
5. χειμερινός
   που έχει σχέση με τον χειμώνα, που γίνεται ή υπάρχει τον χειμώνα ↩︎
6. ήπιος
   όχι δυνατός ή ακραίος, μαλακός, σχετικά ζεστός ή χωρίς ένταση ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What color are the houses and trees in the mountain villages after the first snow?

Question 2: What do people hope for because of the snow in the mountains?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
χιόνι  (n.)	snow
χιονοδρομικό	ski (relating to skiing)
ορεινός	mountainous / mountain (area)
τουρισμός  (m.)	tourism
χειμερινός	winter / wintry
ήπιος	mild

Read the full story

The first winter snowfalls in Greece have covered several mountain regions, bringing a clear change of season and raising hopes for the upcoming Christmas tourism period. On Sunday morning, residents in a number of high-altitude villages woke up to see their homes and surrounding landscapes dusted in white.

The country’s best-known early snow reports came from the ski resorts of Pisoderi in the regional unit of Florina and Vasilitsa in Grevena, both in northern Greece. According to Greek media and the national news agency, ski slopes and peaks in these areas have already collected a noticeable layer of snow. Forecasters expect the snowfall to continue during the night, potentially increasing the snow depth on the pistes.

This first significant snow has been described by local operators as encouraging for the winter season. Managers of the ski centres say they are cautiously optimistic that, if the snow continues, they will have a sufficient snow base to open their resorts in time for the busy Christmas and New Year holidays. They emphasise that final opening dates will depend on weather conditions and safety on the slopes.

Snow has not been limited to these two resorts. Media in western and northern Greece report that parts of the Pindus mountain range in Epirus have also turned white. Villages such as Aetomilitsa, Nea Kotyli, Papigo and Samarína have seen their first snow of the year, with images and videos circulating on Greek news sites and social media. In some of these areas, snowploughs made their first outings of the season to keep local roads open, especially around settlements like Distrato and Milia.

Snow was also observed in the mountainous zones of Kastoria in western Macedonia, where authorities are still dealing with recent storm and flood damage. Reports highlight that the arrival of snow comes only shortly after heavy rainfall and flooding affected parts of the region, adding another challenge for local infrastructure but also signalling the move into full winter conditions.

Further south, the Chelmos (Helmos) mountain and the area around Kalavryta in the Peloponnese have also seen their first snowfall. This area is home to another well-known Greek ski centre, and the fresh snow is being widely interpreted as the practical start of the winter tourism period in that part of the country.

While the mountains are turning white, lowland and coastal regions of Greece are experiencing more moderate conditions. In the capital region of Attica, which includes Athens, the weather on Sunday was largely clear with only brief clouds in the morning. Daytime temperatures ranged from about 13°C to 19°C, with winds from the west at 3 to 5 on the Beaufort scale, indicating a gentle to moderate breeze.

Further north in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, the weather remained mostly sunny, with temperatures between roughly 8°C and 16°C. Winds there were reported as north-westerly at 3 to 4 Beaufort, weakening and becoming more variable from midday onwards.

Conditions across the rest of the country varied by region. In Macedonia and Thrace, the weather was mostly clear with some morning cloud, and temperatures generally between 7°C and 16°C, dropping a few degrees lower in western Macedonia’s higher ground. In the Ionian Islands, Epirus, western mainland Greece and western Peloponnese, clouds were thicker over the Ionian Sea until midday, with forecasts of local showers and isolated thunderstorms returning later in the day, particularly in the northern Ionian area.

In Thessaly, central Greece, Euboea and the eastern Peloponnese, skies were partly cloudy in the south before turning mostly clear from midday, with temperatures reaching around 19°C. The Cyclades islands and Crete saw thin cloud cover that occasionally thickened, with a chance of light, local rain mainly in Crete, and temperatures around 15°C to 21°C.

Over the eastern Aegean islands and the Dodecanese, most areas experienced only brief cloud. The southern Dodecanese, around the Kastellorizo area near Turkey, had early-morning clouds with local showers and a small chance of isolated storms before weather conditions improved. Temperatures there ranged from about 16°C to 22°C, with north-westerly winds generally at 3 to 5 Beaufort.

Overall, the first snowfalls highlight the strong contrast between Greece’s coastal climate and its mountain weather. While much of the country continues to enjoy relatively mild late-autumn conditions, higher altitudes are already moving into full winter. For Greek authorities, ski-centre operators and local communities, the situation brings both logistical challenges—such as road clearing and coordination with areas still recovering from floods—and economic expectations, as they prepare for visitors who associate these regions with skiing, snow, and the festive season.

Info: ‘Greek Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Greek’, a language school dedicated to teaching Greek through various types of online courses and Greek language learning resources.