Unexpected Snow Blankets Florina Amid April Cold Snap

The news in Greek

1. ξαφνικός
   χωρίς προειδοποίηση ή αναμονή ↩︎
2. ανάγκη  (f.)
   η έλλειψη ή απαίτηση για κάτι ↩︎
3. αλυσίδα  (f.)
   σειρά συνδεδεμένων κρίκων ↩︎
4. αναμένω
   περιμένω να συμβεί κάτι ↩︎
5. αρχή  (f.)
   οι δημόσιες αρχές ή οι διοικήσεις ↩︎
6. καθαρός
   χωρίς βρωμιά ή ακαθαρσίες ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Why were the schools closed in Florina on Monday?

Question 2: What are the authorities doing about the roads in Florina?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
ξαφνικός	suddenly
ανάγκη  (f.)	need
αλυσίδα  (f.)	chains
αναμένω	expect
αρχή  (f.)	authorities
καθαρός	clean

Read the full story

The city of Florina in northern Greece experienced an unexpected bout of winter weather despite being in the heart of spring. Late on Sunday night, Florina was enveloped in a thick blanket of snow following a sudden weather shift, with temperatures plummeting dramatically by 15 degrees Celsius within hours.

This April cold snap, characterised by intense snowfall even within the city limits, resulted in snow accumulation reaching approximately 7 centimetres by nightfall. In response to the adverse weather conditions, local mayors in Florina, Prespes, and Amyntaio decided to close all schools on Monday to ensure the safety of students and staff.

The inclement weather also affected movement within the area, necessitating the use of anti-skid chains for vehicles across Florina’s regional unit, including the regions of Prespes and Amyntaio. The civil protection authorities are actively working to keep roads clear and ensure accessibility despite the snowfall.

Meteorologists have noted that this severe weather, marked by its winter-like features, will linger across the region for about two days. Anastasia Tyrasky, a meteorologist from the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), forecasts that Greece will face significant weather changes from Monday, April 8. The country is expected to experience a fall-like weather pattern, with widespread rain, isolated thunderstorms, and further snowfall in northern regions, especially in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of Macedonia and Thrace.

The adverse weather is further predicted to spread across other parts of Greece, bringing rain and storms to western, central, and northern areas, with notable intensity forecast for eastern Macedonia, Thrace, and the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean Sea. As temperatures drop significantly across several regions, morning and night frost warnings are in place for the northern mainland, adding an extra layer of concern during this unexpected return to winter conditions in spring.

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