Greece’s national weather service (EMY) on Saturday issued an emergency bulletin warning of an “express” spell of severe weather set to hit the country on Sunday, bringing intense and long-lasting rainfall, strong winds and local hailstorms.

The most serious conditions are expected in parts of the Peloponnese, eastern Thessaly and central Macedonia, where authorities have issued a Red Code warning, the highest alert level.

According to EMY, torrential rain and thunderstorms will affect the Peloponnese from the early morning hours through late afternoon on Sunday. The same conditions are forecast for eastern Thessaly – including the regional units of Larissa and Magnesia, as well as the Sporades islands – and for Pieria, Imathia and Halkidiki in central Macedonia.

Severe weather phenomena in several regions are expected to be accompanied by strong winds reaching 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale, while local hailstorms are also possible.

Snowfall is forecast in the mountainous areas of mainland Greece and in northern mountainous and semi-mountainous regions. From early Sunday afternoon, snowfall could also affect lower-altitude areas of eastern Macedonia and Thrace, EMY said.

A slightly lower Orange Code warning has been issued for other parts of the country. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected in Crete, mainly in western and southern areas, from the morning hours. Similar conditions are forecast for the Ionian islands, particularly Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos, from early morning until late afternoon.

Orange alerts also cover Epirus and western Central Greece from morning until midday, as well as western Thessaly, including the regional units of Karditsa and Trikala, from morning through the afternoon.

Authorities urged residents in affected areas to remain alert, limit unnecessary travel and follow instructions from civil protection services.