The met office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds across Cyprus, in effect from Friday.

Winds are expected to reach force 6 to 7 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts up to force 8, equivalent to 50 to 74 kilometres per hour.

Met office spokesman Andreas Chrysanthou said the wind has already strengthened significantly, with very strong gale force gusts have hit Paphos.

“All areas will be more or less affected by this wind,” he added.

Rain and isolated storms are also expected, and snow has already started to fall on Troodos.

“Snow has started to fall on the peaks of Troodos and we expect that to follow at lower altitudes,” Chrysanthou added.

The adverse weather is accompanied by a significant drop in temperature.

Daytime temperatures have fallen to between 15C and 17C.

In Troodos, maximum temperatures are expected to remain close to 4C, marking a drop of up to 10 degrees.

Conditions are expected to ease slightly on Saturday, with a small rise in temperatures and weaker winds, although rain and snow in the Platres area will persist.

On Sunday, winds are forecast to strengthen again, with further rain, isolated storms and mountain snow.

From Monday and Tuesday, Cyprus will be affected by another cold air mass, bringing a renewed drop in temperatures alongside rain, storms and snowfall on Olympus.