In a recent article which highlighted the benefits of late snowfall on the mountains of Crete, Haniotika Nea quoted Nektarios Kourgialas, chief researcher at Laboratory for Water Resources and Irrigation of the Institute of Olive Tree in Chania, as saying that “If all goes well, and we do not have any strong south winds, the snows will melt during May, and could even last until June in some areas, while if you remember last year the snow had melted by the beginning of May.”
His words turned out to be negatively prophetic. The south winds which have prevailed over recent days, bringing with them quantities of African dust, have caused a sudden melting of the snows, reducing the coverage on Crete’s three mountain ranges by over 50%.
Commenting on the changes to Haniotika Nea, Mr Kourgialas said:
“On the basis of comparative data from the satellite-radar imaging system Sentinel 1 for 26th March and 13th April 2026, there is a clear reduction of snow coverage on the mountain ranges of Crete, following the episode of southerly winds and African dust, which have accelerated the melting. The estimate is semi-quantitative and does not constitute a full operational mapping, however it shows that on Lefka Ori the snow has been reduced by some 50-60% compared with 26th March, on Psiloritis by 70-80%, while on the Lasithi Mountains it has almost completely vanished.”
In terms of area, this roughly corresponds to:
– 80-100 sq km on Lefka Ori, from 200 sq km at the end of March,
– 20-35 sq km on Psiloritis, from 115 sq km,
– only residual snow coverage on the Lasithi Mountains.
Southerly winds and African dust
The major reduction of snow cover from the end of March to the middle of April, Mr Kourgialas said, is connected with “the recent episode of southerly winds and African dust, which accelerated the melting. The masses of warm air raised the temperature in the mountainous areas, while the dust landing on top of the snow reduced its reflectivity, causing it to absorb more solar energy and to melt more quickly.
“Unless there is another cold spell, the snows on Psiloritis are expected to reduce to residual levels by the end of April, while on Lefka Ori it’s possible that some nuclei of snow cover will persist locally until the end of April or the beginning of May, or even later in the highest and most shaded positions.
“On the three-dimensional satellite images produced, the dark blue to black areas represent areas of snow cover. The basic advantage of the Sentinel-1 data is that it is derived from radar, and thus can accurately track the snow cover even when there is cloud, African dust or reduced visibility. In contrast to the optical Sentinel-2 data, which is very useful when the sky is clear, that from Sentinel-1 ensures continuous monitoring independently of weather conditions.”
It would be good if it remained a little longer
Asked by Haniotika Nea about the weather over the coming days, Mr Kourgialas said: “We won’t have more snow. There may be some rain but temperatures will not fall. The spring increase in temperature will continue and if there is some rain it will be ‘mud rain’ especially on those days when there is more African dust.”
The fact that the snow will not stay on the Cretan mountains for a long period is not a positive development, he said. “It would be better if it stayed longer, but it is not lost – it melts and goes into the karstic rocks, into the springs. Part of it evaporates of course and is lost into the atmosphere, but that too plays its part. … It would be better if the snow persisted until the beginning of June, melting slowly and boosting the underground aquifers.”
(Haniotika Nea, 15/04/26)