After a period of almost springtime temperatures, winter will be returning to Greece for a brief but frigid spell next week, the national weather service said in an emergency bulletin.

Dubbed “Medea,” the new weather system is expected to make its appearance Saturday in northern Greece before sweeping south and east with gale-force winds reaching speeds of up to 9 Beaufort at sea, with temperatures plummeting 18-19 degrees to the low single digits and snow in some parts of the country.

Macedonia, Thessaly and Central Greece are expected to bear the brunt, though Attica, the Peloponnese and some of the islands will also be affected by the system, which is expected to affect the country for about a week.

This article was first published on ekathimerini.com