Cyprus on alert over scattered thunderstorms

Severe weather alerts went into effect on Tuesday with lightning, scattered thunderstorms, and hailstorm warnings affecting many areas on the island, as an unsettled pattern is moving eastward.

Tuesday skies will be mostly cloudy with local showers and isolated thunderstorms affecting the island while hail is also likely during high-intensity scattered storms.

A yellow warning, that went into effect at 2am and will expire in the early evening at 6pm, cited severe offshore and coastal weather as thunderstorms were moving into inland areas where precipitation was expected to range between 35 and 50 millimeters per hour.

Weather official Panayiotis Mouskos said the storms began between 2am and 3am, initially affecting Limassol and then moving over Larnaca Airport International in an eastward direction.

Temperature highs will reach 20 degrees Celsius inland and in coastal regions, while it will be 10 high up in the mountains.

Evening skies will be partly cloudy with small chances of showers over local areas, while temperatures will drop to 10 degrees inland, 14 in coastal areas, while it will be 4 higher up.

Similar weather conditions are expected throughout the workweek when temperatures, which will rise slightly on Wednesday, will remain above normal averages for this time of the year.