Cyprus should expect thunderstorms inland and, on the coast, with heavy rain in some areas and hailstones on Tuesday, according to a Met Office yellow warning for extreme weather conditions.
The alert is in force from 11 am to 7 pm Tuesday, with the downpour predicted to range from 35 to 50 millimetres of rain per hour, while hail is also likely in some areas.
The alert comes as the island was hit by the aptly named ‘Genesis’ weather front that disrupted the traditional ‘Kataklysmos’ celebrations on Monday.
Larnaca, the main venue for celebrating the biblical floods with a festival along the town’s palm-lined promenade, saw heavy rain and hail.
Genesis, a cold-weather front, a continuation of the storms that flooded most of Greece, southern Balkans, and parts of Turkey, dissipated by the time it reached Cyprus but was still strong enough to ruin Cypriots’ plans for a long weekend at the beach.
On Monday, temperatures had dropped a few degrees below the normal 35°C for the season and down 10°C from last week when temperatures reached 39°C.
Tuesday’s weather will be partly cloudy, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms, mainly in Limassol and Paphos.
Maximum temperatures will rise to 30 degrees inland, 27°C on the west coast, around 29°C elsewhere and 20°C in the higher mountains.
Night temperatures will drop to around 18°C inland, around 20°C on the coast and around 11°C in the higher mountains.
On Wednesday, the weather will be partly cloudy at times, and isolated showers or thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon.
The weather will improve from Thursday, as it will be mostly clear, although the mountain regions will get more rain.
While the popular destination for British tourists is witnessing unsettled weather, the UK is set to hit a new high this week as the country will swelter under a 32C heatwave – making Britain hotter than Cyprus.
Parts of the Southeast, London and Wales could reach at least 27C, rising to a possible 32C on Friday, making the UK hotter than Portugal, Jamaica, Costa Rica, the Canary Islands and Cyprus.
Sunbathers have been warned against “overdoing it” while enjoying temperatures of up to 33C on Friday in some parts of London, with very high UV levels expected.
