Power outages, traffic delays as bad weather sweeps island

Bad weather swept across the island on Thursday afternoon and in the evening, leading to power outages in several areas while the low visibility slowed down traffic on the Nicosia-Limassol highway.

Lightning strikes caused power outages in 37 locations in the Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos districts – with most of the incidents taking place in the latter two.

Meanwhile heavy rain and sleet lashed many areas, including along stretches of the Nicosia-Limassol highway, limiting visibility for drivers.

Hail fell in the area of Ayia Koroni to Palechori, with the police advising motorists to drive carefully.

Earlier, the Met service had issued a yellow alert – effective until 2am on Friday. The Met forecasts the weather will clear by Saturday afternoon.