Over 100,000 lightning strikes recorded in Greece during a strong thunderstorm
After three days of heat, when air temperatures rose to 42 degrees Celsius, Greece was hit by heavy rainfall, hail, and squally winds. The bad weather led to fallen trees, power outages, and serious transport problems in many regions, including the Attica metropolitan area, ERT-news TV channel reported.
According to Greek meteorologists, from the afternoon of July 24 to the early morning of July 25, more than 100,000 lightning discharges were recorded on land and at sea.
During this time, the operational center of Attica received 940 calls from residents. People asked for help due to fallen trees, overturned trash cans, and flooding in homes.
Large hail fell in the Athens suburb of Ilion, as well as in the cities of Tyrnavos and Elassona. In the Athens district of Nea Psihiko, the wind knocked down an electrical pole, which damaged parked cars. In the port of Piraeus, construction scaffolding from one of the buildings collapsed onto tram tracks. No one was injured, but cars were damaged.
In the city of Makrakomi in Central Greece, strong winds tore the roof off a house. It was carried approximately 100 meters, after which it hit power lines and damaged cars.
Snow unexpectedly fell on Mount Olympus. In Thessaloniki, heavy rain fell all night, creating problems for the city's residents. Two forest fires broke out on the Halkidiki peninsula due to lightning strikes.
By the morning of July 25, the bad weather in most areas began to subside. However, the Greek Meteorological Service warned of continued high danger in the regions of Magnesia, on the islands of Sporades, Euboea, Thasos, Lemnos, and Samothrace, where extreme weather phenomena are still possible.
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