Typhoon-strength winds swept across Greece in the early morning hours of Thursday and sporadically during the rest of the day, with the strongest wind gust measuring 132 kilometers an hour, a reading recorded in eastern Crete (Finokalia site, Lasithi prefecture).
On the Cyclades island of Naxos, a gust of 124 kilometers was registered, followed by usually windy Karystos, in extreme southern Evia island, at the Paximada promontory (112 kilometers per hour).
According to the meteo.gr site operated by the Athens Observatory, in greater Athens the strongest wind gust measured 101 kilometers per hour.
The inclement weather conditions, even by Greek wintertime standards, caused very rough seas, cancelling most ferry boat routes, while in at least three instances, three docked vessels broke free of their moorings and drifted into the Saronic Gulf, south of the greater Athens-Piraeus area.
