A downpour on Friday afternoon took Nicosia residents by surprise as they didn’t expect such heavy rainfall, despite met office warnings that the day was expected to be rainy.

The areas of Pallouriotissa and Engomi in the city were the worst hit, as well as areas of the Nicosia district neighbouring with Larnaca.

The deluge that began at around 5pm forced many motorists near K-Cineplex in Engomi to pull over as visibility was almost zero.

“The water on the tarmac was at least half a metre high,” a motorist told the Cyprus Mail.

She added that she felt very scared and pulled over for while hoping that the heavy rainfall would subside.

The fire service said it had received 12 calls in the afternoon – mainly from the Makedonitissa area – concerning the towing of cars and flooded establishments. Police said that no incidents were reported that were caused by the rainfall.

According to the met office, storms are also expected on Saturday inland, in mountainous areas, and in eastern coastal areas in the afternoon.

Temperatures are expected to be around 30 degrees Celsius on Saturday inland and in the east and south coastal areas, 27C in the west and north coast and 20C in mountainous areas.

Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny and slightly warmer as temperatures are expected to rise by one to two degrees celsius and remain higher until Tuesday.

Rainfall is expected however, on Sunday and Monday afternoon in the mountainous areas.

Source: Cyprus-Mail