Thunderstorms in Greece: Severe flooding sweeps cars into the sea

In parts of Greece, it has rained as much today alone as it would in an entire year, resulting in bridges collapsing and cars washed into the sea.

Such amounts of rain are rare in Europe: In the town of Zagora on the Pilio peninsula in Thessaly, over 500 mm of rain per square meter were recorded Tuesday alone. At least one fatality is known at this time, a male passed away after a wall collapsed in the city of Volos.

Other places on the peninsula also recorded several 100 mm. For comparison, in the UK it rains about 800 to 1,400 mm in a whole year, depending on the region.

In view of the enormous amounts of rain, there are numerous floods. Videos show cars being washed into the sea. Bridges collapse and roads collapse due to undercutting.

The cause of the rain is the low-pressure system Daniel over the Aegean Sea, which repeatedly presses the warm, humid Mediterranean air against the mountain ranges of the Pilio peninsula.

This is literally wrung out there. In the WeatherRadar it can be seen that the region is hit by numerous powerful thunderstorms.

The current outlook for Greece suggests more torrential rainfall over the coming days, with severe flooding and landslides.

Thessaly will again feel this impact of this, while already flood-hit cities such as Larisa and Volos can expect disruption to continue.

The situation will persist for the coming days, in part, due to the current Omega block over Europe. Two areas of low-pressure, one west of Portugal, and the second named Daniel, over Greece. These are joined by a third over the UK, locking all in place.

Follow the situation with us on the WeatherRadar and RainfallRadar.