Ships tied at ports due to winds in Greece; Egnatia Odos reopens to heavy trucks
Throughout Greece, the cancelled sailings include those between the following: Aghia Marina-Styra, Volos-Sporades, Kavala-Prinos on Thassos, Alexandroupolis-Samothrace. The Port Authority said that only the Keramoti-Thassos port schedule for the morning schedule would be carried out.
Passengers were asked to call local port authorities or tourist agencies to find out about changes or cancellations.
Egnatia Odos
Trucks weighing over 3.5 tons (mixed), which had been temporarily banned on Egnatia Odos in northern Greece, would be allowed to travel betwen Polimilos in Kozani and Panagia in Grevena, according to the Western Macedonia General Police Directorate.
Also allowed to travel were trucks of the same tonnage along the Egnatia Odos section between Thessaloniki and Serres, and throughout the rural network of Thessaloniki Region.
In addition, it was expected that permission would be given for trucks to travel on the vertical road axes of Siatista-Kristallopigi and Kozani-Florina-Niki Customs Station, while they are currently allowed on the Kozani-Larissa National Highway.
Snowfall started gradually thinning out early on Sunday, while snow has stopped falling in most lowland regions in Western Macedonia. Thin snow is falling on high elevations in the region (at over 1,200 m sea level).
Traffic on Egnatia Odos and on its vertical axes is proceeding as normal. Snow chains or special snow tires are required in a few parts of the rural roads at higher elevations in the regions of Kozani, Florina, Grevena, and Kastoria.
The Western Macedonia Region Civil Protection recommended that drivers be particularly alert for icy roads, as the entire region will register temperatures significantly below 0C, and noted that use of snow chains or tires is mandatory in areas affected by snow.
Trikala
In the Trikala Region, snow reached 10-15 cm at points of higher elevations. According to statements by Regional Deputy Governor Chryssa Didi to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), 40 snow-removal machines are already in operation at areas with snowfall, while she underlined there is no problem in transport.
Meanwhile, the northern Greek rural roads of Oreokastro-Melissochori and Xirochori-Prochoma were reopened by Traffic Police on Sunday morning following a shutdown on Saturday night because of snow and ice. The rural road of Chortiatis-Aghios Vassilios was also expected to reopen on Sunday.
