At what elevation to expect snow / frost

[jeba]

I´m still looking to buy a plot and am wondering as of what elevation snow and frost may become a concern. Could it happen that you can´t get to your place in winter because the road from Paphos to the higher elevation villages are impassable without winter tyres or snow chain? Or that the water in your water tanks / pipes will be frozen?

[trevnhil]

We live at about 475 mts above sea level and rarely have snow, so certainly no snow chains needed.
We do have occasional frost but it has never damaged pipes or the water heating panels.
Across the valley from us are villages at almost 700 mts and they get a little snow, but again I doubt anyone uses snow chains. However at that height I do not know if frost causes problems with water pipes.

[lotus]

We are across the valley from Trev but at only 340 meters above sea level,we do have to cover solar panels in winter due to the frost and have lagged all external water pipes,there seems to be pockets of colder air about sometimes,Agious Demetrianos where I used to live was cut off one Winter due to snow! To be honest you won't have any problems unless you are looking at a plot up in the Troodos area,good luck

[cyprusmax47]

I´m still looking to buy a plot and am wondering as of what elevation snow and frost may become a concern. Could it happen that you can´t get to your place in winter because the road from Paphos to the higher elevation villages are impassable without winter tyres or snow chain? Or that the water in your water tanks / pipes will be frozen?

One or two times in winter season, it can happen that there are a few snow flakes on the roads above Paphos, when higher then 500 m sea level. It normally disappears within hours. Also no problem with modern solar water heating systems (PV) and tanks.
However, the difference living above 300 m sea level is amazing. The air is much more dry and clear, due to less humidity and can also be hotter in summer than on the coasts, but easier to cope with. In some valleys can be morning fog though, in spring and autumn.

Max

[Uncle D]

We live above 600mtrs but have not experienced these conditions in the last 3 winters, we have also lived in Tsada and Koili both of these are above 600mtrs and we have never experienced that kind of weather, it just gets a lot colder.
I don't think there is anywhere in the Paphos district that has these problems every winter, Kathikas, Inea, Arodes and Drousia seem to get the coldest as they are exposed more, maybe someone from those areas can help.

[PolemIan]

As with Trevor we are also in Polemi on the the other side of the ‘basin’, but at the same altitude. We have had flurries of snow probably 3 or 4 times in our 6 winters here, it’s settled twice and never stayed overnight except in well shaded bits. Frost is not uncommon, but only around very early in the morning as the driver Police car that slid of the of main road near the petrol station a couple of winters ago will testify. We get quite a lot of hail but it can, like a lot of weather here, be very localised. A few people have had solar hot water panels damaged by frost and hail. I’ve never heard of the main roads from Paphos into outlying villages like out becoming unpassable.

Ian

[Devil]

In 23 years, we have seen snow having settled ephemerally just three times at slightly under 300 m altitude. We have gone into negative temperatures (just!) perhaps a dozen times or so. Our record negative temperature, measured correctly, was -2.3°C ±0.4°.

[cyprusmax47]

In 38 years living in Paphos area, there was only once too much snow to continue driving uphill on the road to Simou at 250 m sealevel....and I had to turn back home. One hour later it was all gone though.

Max

[Kili01]

I've lived near Paphos for over 20 yrs now. For much of that time I lived at Kamares, which is built on a series of quite steep hills. In that time we only had a snow fall twice, and then only about 2". Occasionally, Cyprus does have a very cold winter, ,but usually snow and ice is very rare, unless you choose to live in one of the Troodos mountain villages.
The time we woke up to see snow outside was amazing, but the previous evening it had even snowed down at Paphos harbour which made the papers!
If you are worried about winter driving in your location, a 4x4 car is very useful!
Dee

[jeba]

Thanks for all the replies. Some of the plots I might be interested in are in Polemi, Kathikas, Stroumpi, Letymvou and Psathi, all of which are at higher elevations. I wonder why plots in these areas seems so much cheaper? Is living up there as much less desirable as prices suggest?

[Uncle D]

Most people want to be near to amenities like shops and restaurant's and in some cases the beach and sea, if you live in Psathi for instance your nearest kiosks and tavernas are in Polemi maybe 10 minutes drive away, but if you want to go to Lidl or other supermarkets its a good 30 minutes drive.
This obviously adds to the cost of running your car.

[WHL]

Thanks for all the replies. Some of the plots I might be interested in are in Polemi, Kathikas, Stroumpi, Letymvou and Psathi, all of which are at higher elevations. I wonder why plots in these areas seems so much cheaper? Is living up there as much less desirable as prices suggest?

All down to supply and demand, not as much demand hence the cheaper cost.

[jeba]

if you want to go to Lidl or other supermarkets its a good 30 minutes drive.
This obviously adds to the cost of running your car.

Are there no supermarkets (even if not a Lidl) closer than 30 min away in those areas? 10 - 15 min would be totally acceptable to me. That´s the same as where I´m currently living (between Pervolia and Mazotos). Are there other downsides to these areas (e.g. under the flightpath, dust, mosquitos, noise, slow internet, voltage fluctuations switching off my PV net metering system...)?

[cyprusmax47]

Thanks for all the replies. Some of the plots I might be interested in are in Polemi, Kathikas, Stroumpi, Letymvou and Psathi, all of which are at higher elevations. I wonder why plots in these areas seems so much cheaper? Is living up there as much less desirable as prices suggest?

Polemi, Stroumpi, Letymbou and Psathi you will reach from Paphos (Konia) and the coast within 15 minutes (app 15 km) in the near future, as soon as the motorway is ready until Stroumpi. I also expect prices for properties in that area will go up for the same reason.

Max

[trevnhil]

I too would say that from Polemi to Lidl just off Polis road is 15 to 20 minutes. There are two 'supermarkets' / large kiosks in Polemi.. and at least one other in Stroumpi

[Dominic]

We chose Polemi precisely because of its location. We like the South Coast and the North Coast equally, so figured somewhere in the middle would be ideal. Unless you want to be able to open your front door and run into the sea, everywhere you live will require a car journey to get to the beach. Also, we are closer to the forest and a lot of the Akamas here.

On top of that, you don't get the humidity that you get in Paphos during the summer. That's a big plus.

But yes, we do have to scrape ice off the car window in the winter time occasionally.

[trevnhil]

Another place to think about that is above the 'Humidity Line' is Tremithousa.. But I have no idea about the availability of land on the outskirts.
But it has a lot of pluses. And it has many restaurants nearby at Mesogi

[jeba]

Unless you want to be able to open your front door and run into the sea, .

That's what I can do now (almost, it's about 500 m). However, I'm renting and couldn't afford land prices around here. At least not for a plot bigger than a beach towel.
What about th other Potential downsides I mentioned above (under the flightpath, dust, mosquitos, noise, slow internet, voltage fluctuations switching off my PV net metering system...)? Let me add snakes and feel free to and what you think I forgot.

[trevnhil]

I can really only mention Polemi area.. You can occasionally hear aircraft to and from Paphos. but it really is not a bother... Re Dust, well that happens in the atmosphere from time to time all over Cyprus.
Mosquitos are around from time to time, but many people have screens on their windows and doors.
We have a PV net metering system and have had no problems with it.. Yes we have snakes in the area.

One main thing you have not mentioned and that is 'Barking Dogs'... Yes we have them in Polemi and I would imagine in any community you choose to live in... There is unfortunately little you can do about it apart from live a little outside the village

[PolemIan]

I too would say that from Polemi to Lidl just off Polis road is 15 to 20 minutes. There are two 'supermarkets' / large kiosks in Polemi.. and at least one other in Stroumpi

19 minutes is my average. Which i noticed the other day is exactly the same time it took me to drive from the stadium in Peyia to the centre of Paphos (Kennedy Square), which made me smile when I thought of all the contractors who’ve told me how far out it is to Polemi.

Ian