Busy Evening and Morning of Severe Thunderstorms in Greece! (credit: Meteo Europe)

DISCUSSION: An area of low pressure and an associated cold front situated near the heel of Italy coupled with the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea provided all the necessary ingredients for the creation of robust storms that left Greece drenched with rain and more! Last night and into this morning (local time), parts of Greece and surrounding areas faced incredibly heavy rain, with some local reports of 200 millimeters (about 7.9 inches) of rain in southern coastal Greece. With so much precipitation in such a short amount of time, flooding has occurred, damaging roads, buildings, and washing away cars (see pictures above, courtesy of Meteo Europe), as well as leading to a few fatalities and missing persons.

These thunderstorms didn’t just slam Greece with rain though; off the shore of Southwestern Greece, in Katakolon, twin waterspouts were spotted this morning. No reports of damage or fatalities have been reported from these waterspouts, thankfully. Accompanying the rain and waterspouts was an incredible light show as well. Captured in the image above, courtesy of Meteo Europe, is a map of the intense lighting storm that produced an estimated 30,000 strikes in the past 36 hours over Greece. While this system continues to move North/Northeast into mainland Greece and Europe over the next day or two, residents should continue to be vigilant for severe weather in the region. To learn more about other high-impact weather events from across Europe, click here!

@Meteorologist Katie McCracken