More storms to hit island in coming days

Cyprus is unlikely to be affected by weather phenomena as extreme as those seen in Crete but may experience strong, isolated storms in the coming days, meteorological officer Panayiotis Lingis said on Saturday. “Isolated storms that are expected to be strong, are not ruled out in the coming days,” he said, however adding that as of now. Lingis said storms had already struck the northwest in Polis Chrysochous, Pyrgos Tillyrias and Akamas early on Saturday, while local rains and isolated storms are expected to affect other parts of the island. “Today we expect other areas will be affected, namely mountainous areas, inland areas and the north, with a focus on the occupied territories,” he said. According to Lingis, rain is expected during the night mainly on the western and southern coasts, with the phenomena expected to continue in Limassol and Paphos districts on Sunday morning. The conditions are expected to move towards the higher mountains, inland and the northern regions in the afternoon. Looking ahead, Lingis said that the same weather conditions are expected to continue until Wednesday and would primarily occur in inland and in the higher mountains. “In the coming days we expect phenomena to be less extensive, but their intensity will likely be notable,” he said. Asked whether the current showers could contribute to the strengthening of water reserves, Lingis said that this was difficult to assess as the showers were isolated and may be intense but short-lived. A storm earlier this week saw flash floods and road and school closures in Crete, with further bad weather forecast this weekend.