RAIN IS expected today along the coast and in the mountains, with most of the dust having cleared from the atmosphere, according to the met office.“We expect rain mainly in the mountains and on the coast at lunchtime and in the afternoon, but we’ll get some sunny spells at certain periods too,” said Meteorological officer Michalis Mouskis yesterday.He also said that a lot of the dust that has been in the atmosphere over the last few days has been washed away with the rain and storms that struck islandwide yesterday.Temperatures for today will be around 26C inland, 24C on the south coast, 22C in remaining coastal areas and 16C in the mountains.The weather is set to improve come the weekend with temperatures reaching 28C-30C inland... Read on

THE DUST in the air is expected to lift today but rain is on the way, said the met office yesterday.“There will be rain more than likely after lunchtime, with most of the rain hitting the west coast, but we’ll have rain in other coastal areas too and inland, along with strong winds,” said Meteorological officer Panayiotis Georgiou.Temperatures will be around 23C inland, 20C on the coast and 16C in the mountains.Georgiou said more rain is expected on Thursday with a drop in temperature, bringing it to below the norm for the time of year.The met office also confirmed that rainfall from October 2011 up till now has exceeded the average, reaching 604.9mm with the usual being 467.4 mm of rain... 2 comments

CLOUDS will persist today, bringing more rain, storms and winds, the met office said yesterday although it should be bright for the holiday weekend.There may even be some snow or hail on Troodos mountain, metereological officer Cleanthis Nicolaides told CyBC, after showers were seen across much of the island yesterday.The weather yesterday felt markedly colder than in the last few days as last weekend’s temperatures were higher than normal at around 30 degrees Celsius. Today the temperature will be around 23 degrees Celsius in Nicosia. “There are ups and downs in temperatures during transitional weather,” Nicolaides said... 3 comments

 THE ISLAND’S largest dam, Kouris, is expected to overflow for the second time in its history, possibly by next week, according to officials at the Water Development Department.“More than likely it will overflow after the weekend, we’ll see,  if it rains. Of course it could overflow sooner but we don’t need to rush it,” said senior technician at the Water Development Department, Fedros Roussis.According to Roussis, the last time it overflowed was in 2004 and is currently 99 per cent full.The dam, whose construction was finished in 1988 in the Limassol area, has a storage capacity of 115 million cubic metres. ... 6 comments

 THE WEATHER is set to change today, with rain and a drop in temperature expected over the next few days.Meteorological officer Panayiotis Michail yesterday said snow may even fall on Troodos on Thursday.He said it will feel colder as it will be windy.“But the temperature is quite good, around normal for this time of year,” said Michail. “We are expecting a drop in temperature over the next few days, which will be noticeable,” he added. “We are expecting to go from 22 (degrees Celsius) to around 16 to 17.”Michail said that by end of month, the temperature would be lower than normal for this time of year.Isolated showers, and maybe some storms, can be expected today and tomorrow, while rainfall is expected to intensify on Thursday... 2 comments

OPTING out of the Farming Insurance Organisation (OGA) will disqualify potato growers from state subsidies, OGA said yesterday in response to potato growers’ demand that subscription be made optional.Potato growers currently get state compensation for loss of income from a national plan set up in 2005, and are insured against hail, frost and flood as part of OGA’s scheme.“With a possible exit from OGA’s insurance scheme, potato growers are denied of the right to be compensated,” OGA said.Potato growers currently need to contribute 4.0 per cent of their expected income to OGA but say the cost is too high, while the organisation does not pay enough... 1 comment

JUST when it seemed the spring was well on its way, the Meteorological Service yesterday announced the cold and wintery weather was expected to return.A meteorological officer yesterday told the CyBC that temperatures were expected to drop today, with showers and sometimes storms breaking out all over the island.The temperature is expected to drop steadily until Wednesday, when the officer said there could even be more snow in the Troodos mountains... 6 comments

SNOWFALL this week may have been a rare treat for some but it has forced many mountain dwellers to seek alternative means of heating their homes.“I know an elderly couple that you’ll sometimes see them sitting in their car when it’s sunny during the day time,” said Richard Sale from Kouka village in the Limassol area.According to Sale, this particular couple can only afford to start their fire in the evenings, due to the ever-increasing cost of firewood. So in the mornings when the sun is strong enough to heat the cars, they keep warm in their double-cabin pick up, he said.He said another couple from the village had spent €1,000 on firewood during the winter to heat their home... 5 comments

DESPITE the arrival of spring, light snow and rain are expected until Monday, according to the Meteorological Service.“The temperature will slowly start to rise by one or two degrees but up until Monday it will remain below the norm for the season,” said meteorological officer, Haris Zachariades yesterday.Temperatures today are set to remain at 11C inland, 13C on the coast and 0C in the mountains.Heavy snowfall in the mountains on Wednesday blocked roads, which have remained closed, shutting various schools in the mountains and semi-mountainous regions, mainly in the Limassol and Nicosia areas. The lower-lying areas, including the capital, also got their fair share of snow for the first time in years... 4 comments

 FOR THE first time in years it snowed in low-lying areas in all districts yesterday delighting some and causing problems for others.Ten cars overturned on the way to Troodos and motorists had to be helped by police, while farmers in the Famagusta district said they had lost their crops overnight due to the freezing temperatures.On the mountain road of Platania-Karvounas ten drivers became trapped in their cars after “miscalculating the weather conditions” and had to be freed by the officers, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said.Angelides called on drivers to “be cautious, have lights on, keep a safe distance and avoid moving around unnecessarily... 9 comments