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Summary Heavy snow coupled with high winds forced school and office closures in Greece on Tuesday.
In northern suburbs of Athens schools in at least eight districts were closed for the day, along with schools and some public service offices in 11 municipalities in central and northern Greece. Electricity cuts were reported in various regions.Temperatures plummeted to one degrees celsius in the Athens north suburbs while it was recorded at minus five degrees celsius in northern Greece. Driving was slow-going on national highways and roads as heavy winds and snow lashed down.Greeks, not accustomed to dealing with snow, scrambled to find snow chains, while others struggled to dig out their vehicles. Police closed off streets covered in snow and ice. Children however seemed to be enjoying the snowfall, taking advantage of school closures to throw snowballs and take out their sleds.The snowfall was coupled with gale force winds that caused the cancellation of sea ferry schedules from main sea ports. The sudden snow spell swept across the country late on Monday and within hours reached as far as the southern Peloponnese peninsula. It is expected to last for the next two days at least before temperatures begin to rise.
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