A rare hurricane-like storm has hit western Greece with hail, disrupting travel and causing flooding and power outages on several Ionian islands.
The storm was expected to head south after making landfall in the Peloponnese and hit the Athens area overnight

In Athens, flooding temporarily closed Piraeus Street in both directions before police ordered it to reopen.



Brief but intense thunderstorms overnight into the early hours of flooded major streets in and around Athens and uprooted trees in northern Greece.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, but in northern Greece and nearby villages, flooding in the basements of houses led to additional firefighters from the regions being called in to help.

As night, that included a total of 50 firefighters with 20 trucks.
Forty-five homes, basements, and commercial spaces were pumped out after more than three inches of rain fell in nearly an hour. There were reports of flooded agricultural fields, irrigation canals and overflowing drainage channels.

Further south, several mountain villages were without electricity, firefighters were pumping water out of flooded basements.
Thunderstorms and hail were reported in Thessaloniki. Despite the short-lived storm, roads in eastern Thessaloniki were flooded.



Mediterranean Cyclone Ianos, an unusual phenomenon also known as the "hospital", produced strong winds of up to 117 kilometers (73 miles) per hour, according to the Greek Civil Protection Agency.