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Deteriorating weather conditions during the past day have caused serious problems in northern Greece. Due to heavy snowfall last night, road traffic in the areas Kozani-Grevena and Kozani-Epirus along the Egnatia highway was interrupted. Dozens of cars were jammed on a secondary ring road because of a slipping truck.

According to police data, there are blocked cars along the Kozani-Grevena road and currently, their drivers and passengers are being evacuated. So far, the authorities have had to evacuate about a thousand people who have been taken to hotels in the area of ​​Kozani. The Secretary of the civil protection service said some schools were also opened to shelter some of the people. He added that the closed sections on Egnatia will be opened later today. However, a long stretch of about 12 km between Kozani and Grevena remains closed. Snow chains are required for driving along the road through Ptolemaida.

For his part, the head of the service managing the road network in northern Greece said that the section from Ioannina to Thessaloniki was still open at 4:00 am, the traffic was running regularly and no snow chains were required. The authorities' efforts are concentrated on the opening of the northern section, which was closed yesterday. Circulation on all other primary and secondary roads in Western Macedonia is difficult and chains are necessary.

Snow chains are required for those wanting to travel on the mountain roads in central Greece, namely in the sections Larissa-Domokos to Karditsa and Trikala, and Lamia-Karpenisi, because of ice.

The snow that piled up in the regions of Evritania and western Fthiotida is over 70 cm deep, and in the area of ​​Domokos, it is 30 cm. The problems with power supply of many mountain villages in the region of Karditsa continue.

The snow did not miss Attica. Cars moving to Mount Parnitha are required to use snow chains in the area after the lift. Long lines of cars are formed on the Athens - Lamia highway near Varibobi.

Snow chains are required for all roads in the mountainous areas around Thessaloniki and Serres.

Strong winds in the Aegean Sea have ceased and ships are sailing away regularly from all Greek ports. The only route that is not serviced is Prinos-Kavala.

All flights to and from Thessaloniki airport, which were suspended yesterday because of low clouds, have been carried out normally since morning.

The Greek Meteorological Office announced that weather is expected to start improving from late Friday afternoon, mostly in the western and northern parts of the country. In Attica, it is cloudy with rain in the lowlands and snow in mountainous areas, which are expected to die out later today. Winds will be strong at a speed of 6-8 and temporarily 9 on the Beaufort scale, and temperatures will be between 2-8°C. They are about 2-3°C lower in the northern part of Athens.

In Thessaloniki, it has been cloudy with rain and sleet since morning. The weather will gradually improve and by the end of the day, the phenomenon will be limited to  the eastern part of the region. Temperatures in the city are between 0 and 3°C.

The weather will improve for Christmas, but a new cold snap is expected on Sunday afternoon.