Ask a foreigner, and they’ll tell you Cyprus is all sun and sea.

For the most part, our summer visitors are blithely unaware that we have two mountain ranges, one of which peaks at roughly 2,000 feet higher than Ben Nevis!

Up there, on Mount Olympus, there’s snow every single winter. Some years, it arrives late; others, much sooner. Most recently, our earliest snowfall was actually in this month when, on November 19 2023, a brief dusting of flakes was reported on Chionistra. In 2024, November 24 brought flurries down to Prodromos. And in the winter of 2022, November 25 saw the year’s first snowfall over the peaks.

However, it’s not just the high points that feel the flakes! Nicosia (inland, and away from the moderating balm of the sea) last saw the white stuff fall on March 13, 2022, when the Philippos system brought light snow to the city. Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos all saw brief flurries in 2008, over Kato Polemidia, Odou, Vavatsinia and Mesogi.

And then there was the year it snowed in Ayia Napa!

On January 9, 2015, residents in the Famagusta district awoke to snow falling over Paralimni, Deryneia, Sotira and, yes, Ayia Napa itself. It wasn’t the first time, either: two years earlier, again on January 9, the resort saw what locals described as its ‘first ever snow’.

They were wrong. Anyone who remembers the winter of 1950 may well recall fairly heavy snowfall, not only in Napa, but also Deryneia, Paralimni and Vrysoulles!

Now, we’re not quite at that point yet. There’s at least another couple of weeks (possibly longer – in the winter of 2020-2021, our first snow fell in January; perhaps put off by all the COVID strictures) before we see snow anywhere on the island.

Instead, this week will bring us a gentle reminder that a Cyprus winter doesn’t roar in with a blizzard, just a bit of a damp breeze!

In Nicosia, we’ll see a mild, mostly dry stretch. Friday begins under a mottled sky, 21°C at best, dipping to a comfortable 13°C by night. Saturday stays breezy with a high of 20°C and, by Sunday, the capital recovers to a bright, easy 22°C – a brief encore of autumn before Monday’s climb to 24°C. In short: jumpers, not coats.

Down in Limassol, the weekend starts wetter. Showers move through on Friday (a proper soaking in places), lingering into Saturday before clearing on Sunday. Larnaca shares a similar script: highs of 23–24°C; patchy showers on Friday and Saturday, then plenty of sunshine by Sunday and beyond.

Over in Paphos, a little rain on Friday gives way to a serene weekend. Expect mid-20s highs, a soft sea breeze and the bone-warming sunshine that makes granny glad. Troodos will see highs of just 10°C over the weekend. Though, by Monday, temperatures jump up to 16°C once more.

Meanwhile, in Ayia Napa, site of the legendary seaside snowfall, there’s no cause for excitement, alas. Breezy, bright and sitting comfortably around 20–23°C, there’ll be a few showers on Friday before the sunshine bounces back for the weekend.

In fact, the only thing getting frozen on the island this week is likely to be assets.

  1. No need for snow boots yet – but socks are finally a go.
  1. Keep an umbrella handy, though you might not need it.
  2. Saturday is perfect jumper weather.
  3. We’re warming up again by Monday…
  4. So, don’t change over to your winter wardrobe just yet!