Torrential rain and storms hit the island of Crete on Saturday morning, while heavy rain poured in Attica early to midday on Saturday, the Meteo service of the National Observatory of Athens said.

Strong winds and rainfall will start from the southwest and spread to all of Greece throughout the weekend, until Sunday, where they will be mostly limited to the east and the islands, which will experience gale-force winds.

The strong winds in the south will also carry dust from Africa, turning rainfall into muddy rain as of Saturday. Eastern Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece, Thessaly and Crete may also experience local hailstorms, besides rainstorms.

Temperature will fluctuate but will not rise above 18C except on Crete (21C), while in the north and western Greece it will reach lows of 7C early in the day.

Athens will also feel the stormy weather on Saturday, with strong winds of 6 or 7 on the Beaufort scale, tending to subside later in the day. Thessaloniki weather will be milder, with local rain and lower wind velocity, of up to 5 on the Beaufort scale.