Lightning strikes more than 12,000 times

More than 12,000 lightning strikes were recorded across the country by midday Thursday, according to the National Observatory of Athens’ Zeus lightning detection network. Forecasts for bad weather with intense lightning activity had been made since the beginning of the week. On Wednesday, the bad weather was focused on northern Greece, where the residents of some areas received warning messages from the 112 number. On Thursday it was Attica’s turn, with 112 messages buzzing people’s phones a few minutes after midday, when the northeastern suburbs began to receive large volumes of rain. The affected areas were Dionysos, Kapandriti, Varibobi, Ekali, Tatoi, Spata and Agios Stefanos. At the same time, heavy rain fell in Thermi on the island of Lesvos and in central Greece (Fthiotida, Stylida, Arachova, Tanagra, Lamia, Livadeia, Parnassos). [AMNA]