Mediterranean Tropical-like Cyclone
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Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, often referred to as medicanes (a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. On a few rare occasions, some storms have been observed reaching the strength of a
Category 1 hurricane Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *C ...
, on the
Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by ...
, and one storm has been recorded reaching Category 2 intensity. The main societal hazard posed by medicanes is not usually from destructive winds, but through life-threatening
torrential rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...
s and
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
s. The occurrence of medicanes has been described as not particularly rare. Tropical-like systems were first identified in the Mediterranean basin in the 1980s, when widespread
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
coverage showing tropical-looking low pressures which formed a cyclonic eye in the center were identified. Due to the dry nature of the Mediterranean region, the formation of
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
,
subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical cyclone, tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as Tropical cyclo ...
s and tropical-like cyclones are infrequent and also hard to detect, in particular with the reanalysis of past data. Depending on the search algorithms used, different long-term surveys of satellite era and pre-satellite era data came up with 67 tropical-like cyclones of tropical storm intensity or higher between 1947 and 2014, and around 100 recorded tropical-like storms between 1947 and 2011. More consensus exists about the long term temporal and spatial distribution of tropical-like cyclones: they form predominantly over the western and central Mediterranean Sea while the area east of
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
is almost devoid of tropical-like cyclones. The development of tropical-like cyclones can occur year-round, with activity historically peaking between the months of September and January, while the counts for the summer months of June and July are the lowest.


Meteorological classification and history

Historically, the term ''tropical-like cyclone'' was coined in the 1980s to unofficially distinguish
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s developing outside the
tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
(like in the Mediterranean Basin) from those developing inside the tropics. The term ''tropical-like'' was in no way meant to indicate a hybrid cyclone exhibiting characteristics not usually seen in "true" tropical cyclones. In their matured stages, Mediterranean tropical cyclones show no difference from other tropical storms. And only tropical storms are known to develop into
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s. Mediterranean hurricanes or medicanes are therefore not different from hurricanes elsewhere.
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
tropical-like cyclones are not considered to be formally classified tropical cyclones and their region of formation is not officially monitored by any agency with meteorological tasks. However, the NOAA subsidiary
Satellite Analysis Branch The United States Satellite Analysis Branch, part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Satellite Services Division, is the operational focal point for r ...
released information related to a medicane in November 2011 while it was active, which they dubbed as "Tropical Storm 01M", though they ceased services in the Mediterranean on 16 December 2011 for undisclosed reasons. However, in 2015, the NOAA resumed services in the Mediterranean region; by 2016, the NOAA was issuing advisories on a new tropical system, Tropical Storm 90M. Since 2005,
ESTOFEX The European Storm Forecast Experiment, known as ESTOFEX, is an initiative of a team of European meteorologists, and students in meteorology founded in 2002. It serves as a platform for exchange of knowledge about forecasting severe convective sto ...
has been issuing bulletins that can include tropical-like cyclones, among others. No agency with meteorological tasks, however, is officially responsible for monitoring the formation and development of medicanes, as well as for their naming. Despite all this, the whole Mediterranean Sea lies within the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
area of responsibility with the
Hellenic National Meteorological Service The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) ( el, Εθνική Μετεωρολογική Υπηρεσία (ΕΜΥ)) is a government agency responsible for making weather forecasts and observations for Greece. HNMS was founded in 1931 under ...
(HNMS) as the governing agency, while
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
's
Météo-France Météo-France is the French national meteorological service. Organisation The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
serves as a "preparation service" for the western part of the Mediterranean as well. As the only official agency covering the whole Mediterranean Sea, HNMS publications are of particular interest for the classification of medicanes. HNMS calls the meteorological phenomenon ''Mediterranean tropical-like Hurricane'' in its annual bulletin and – by also using the respective portmanteau word ''medicane''– makes the term ''medicane'' quasi-official. In a joint article with the ''Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment'' of the University of Athens, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service outlines conditions to consider a cyclone over the Mediterranean Sea a ''Medicane'': In the same article, a survey of 37 medicanes revealed that medicanes could have a well-defined cyclone eye at estimated maximum sustained winds between and , with the lower end being exceptionally low for warm core cyclones. Medicanes can indeed develop well-defined eyes at such low maximum sustained winds of around as could be seen for a 22 October 2015 medicane near the
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
n coast. This is much lower than the lower threshold for eye development in tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean which seems to be close to , well below hurricane-force winds. Several notable and damaging medicanes are known to have occurred. In September 1969, a North African Mediterranean tropical cyclone produced flooding that killed nearly 600 individuals, left 250,000 homeless, and crippled local economies. A medicane in September 1996 that developed in the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
region spawned six tornadoes, and inundated parts of the islands. Several medicanes have also been subject to extensive study, such as those of January 1982, January 1995, September 2006, November 2011, and November 2014. The January 1995 storm is one of the best-studied Mediterranean tropical cyclones, with its close resemblance to tropical cyclones elsewhere and availability of observations. The medicane of September 2006, meanwhile, is well-studied, due to the availability of existing observations and data. Given the low profile of HNMS in forecasting and classifying tropical-like systems in the Mediterranean, a proper classification system for Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones does not exist. The HNMS criterion of a cyclonic eye for considering a system a medicane is usually valid for a system at peak strength, often only hours before landfall, which is not suitable at least for forecasts and warnings. Unofficially,
Deutscher Wetterdienst The () or DWD for short, is the German Meteorological Service, based in Offenbach am Main, Germany, which monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and provides weather services for the general public and for nautical, avia ...
(DWD, the German meteorological service) proposed a system to forecast and classify tropical-like cyclones based on the NHC classification for the northern
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. To account for the broader wind field and the larger
radius of maximum wind The radius of maximum wind (RMW) is the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds. It is a parameter in atmospheric dynamics and tropical cyclone forecasting. The highest rainfall rates occur near the RMW of tropic ...
s of tropical-like systems in the Mediterranean (see the section ''Development and characteristics'' below), DWD is suggesting a lower threshold of for the use of the term medicane in the Mediterranean instead of as suggested by the
Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by ...
for Atlantic hurricanes. The DWD proposal and also US-based forecasts (NHC, NOAA, NRL etc.) use one-minute
sustained wind The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unl ...
s while European-based forecasts use ten-minute sustained winds which makes a difference of roughly 14% in measurements. The distinction is also of direct practical use (for example for a comparison of NOAA bulletins with EUMETSAT, ESTOFEX and HNMS bulletins). To account for the difference, the DWD proposal is shown below for both one-minute and deduced ten-minute sustained winds (see
tropical cyclone scales Tropical cyclones are ranked on one of five tropical cyclone intensity scales, according to their maximum sustained winds and which tropical cyclone basins they are located in. Only a few scales of classifications are used officially by the met ...
for conversions): Another proposal uses roughly the same scale but suggests to use the term ''medicane'' for tropical storm force cyclones and ''major medicane'' for hurricane force cyclones. Both proposals would fit the observation, that half of the 37 cyclones surveyed by HNMS with a clearly observable hurricane-like eye, as the major criterion for assigning the medicane status, showed maximum sustained winds between , while another quarter of the medicanes peaked at lower wind speeds.


Climatology

A majority of Mediterranean tropical cyclones (
tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tropi ...
) form over two separate regions. The first, more conducive for development than the other, encompasses an area of the western Mediterranean bordered by the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, southern France, and the shorelines of the islands of
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
. The second identified region of development, in the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
between
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and stretching south to
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, is less favorable for
tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tropi ...
. An additional two regions, in the Aegean and
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
seas, produce fewer medicanes, while activity is minimal in the
Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
ine region. The geographical distribution of Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones is markedly different from that of other
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
s, with the formation of regular cyclones centering on the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
and
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
mountain ranges, the
Gulf of Genoa The Gulf of Genoa (''Golfo di Genova'') is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. This Italian gulf is about wide from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on its coast is Genoa, which has an important p ...
, and the island of
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
in the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
. Although meteorological factors are most advantageous in the Adriatic and Aegean seas, the closed nature of the region's geography, bordered by land, allows little time for further evolution. The geography of mountain ranges bordering the Mediterranean are conducive for severe weather and thunderstorms, with the sloped nature of mountainous regions permitting the development of convective activity. Although the geography of the Mediterranean region, as well as its dry air, typically prevent the formation of tropical cyclones, when certain meteorological circumstances arise, difficulties influenced by the region's geography are overcome. The occurrence of tropical cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea is generally extremely rare, with an average of 1.57 forming annually and merely 99 recorded occurrences of tropical-like storms discovered between 1948 and 2011 in a modern study, with no definitive trend in activity in that period. Few medicanes form during the summer season, though activity typically rises in autumn, peaks in January, and gradually decreases from February to May. In the western Mediterranean region of development, approximately 0.75 such systems form each year, compared with 0.32 in the Ionian Sea region. However, on very rare occasions, similar tropical-like storms may also develop in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
. Studies have evaluated that
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
can result in higher observed intensities of tropical cyclones as a result of deviations in the surface energy flux and atmospheric composition, which both heavily influence the development of medicanes as well. In tropical and subtropical areas, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) rose within a 50-year period, and in the
North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
and Northwestern Pacific
tropical cyclone basins Traditionally, areas of tropical cyclone formation are divided into seven basins. These include the north Atlantic Ocean, the eastern and western parts of the northern Pacific Ocean, the southwestern Pacific, the southwestern and southeastern Ind ...
, the potential destructiveness and energy of storms nearly doubled within the same duration, evidencing a clear correlation between global warming and tropical cyclone intensities. Within a similarly recent 20-year period, SSTs in the Mediterranean Sea increased by , though no observable increase in medicane activity has been noted, . In 2006, a computer-driven
atmospheric model An atmospheric model is a mathematical model constructed around the full set of primitive dynamical equations which govern atmospheric motions. It can supplement these equations with parameterizations for turbulent diffusion, radiation, moist ...
evaluated the future frequency of Mediterranean cyclones between 2071 and 2100, projecting a decrease in autumn, winter, and spring cyclonic activity coinciding with a dramatic increase in formation near Cyprus, with both scenarios attributed to elevated temperatures as a result of global warming. In another study, researchers found that more tropical-like storms in the Mediterranean could reach Category 1 strength by the end of the 21st Century, with most of the stronger storms appearing in the autumn, though the models indicated that some storms could potentially reach Category 2 intensity. Other studies, however, have been inconclusive, forecasting both increases and decreases in duration, number, and intensity. Three independent studies, using different methodologies and data, evaluated that while medicane activity would likely decline with a rate depending on the climate scenario considered, a higher percentage of those that formed would be of greater strength.


Development and characteristics

The development of tropical or subtropical cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea can usually only occur under somewhat unusual circumstances. Low
wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
and
atmospheric instability Atmospheric instability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is generally considered to be unstable and as a result the weather is subjected to a high degree of variability through distance and time. Atmospheric stability is a measure of th ...
induced by incursions of cold air are often required. A majority of medicanes are also accompanied by upper-level
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
s, providing energy required for intensifying
atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air masses lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the ...
—thunderstorms—and heavy
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The
baroclinic In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the densi ...
properties of the Mediterranean region, with high temperature gradients, also provides necessary instability for the formation of tropical cyclones. Another factor, rising cool air, provides necessary moisture as well. Warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are mostly unnecessary, however, as most medicanes' energy are derived from warmer air temperatures. When these favorable circumstances coincide, the genesis of warm-core Mediterranean tropical cyclones, often from within existing cut-off
cold-core low A cold-core low, also known as an upper level low or cold-core cyclone, is a cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere, without a frontal structure. It is a low pressure syst ...
s, is possible in a conducive environment for formation. Factors required for the formation of medicanes are somewhat different from that normally expected of
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s; known to emerge over regions with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) below , Mediterranean tropical cyclones often require incursions of colder air to induce atmospheric instability. A majority of medicanes develop above regions of the Mediterranean with SSTs of , with the upper bound only found in the southernmost reaches of the sea. Despite the low sea surface temperatures, the instability incited by cold atmospheric air within a
baroclinic In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the densi ...
zone—regions with high differences in temperature and pressure—permits the formation of medicanes, in contrast with tropical areas lacking high baroclinity, where raised SSTs are needed. While significant deviations in air temperature have been noted around the time of Mediterranean tropical cyclones' formation, few anomalies in sea surface temperature coincide with their development, indicating that the formation of medicanes is primarily controlled by higher air temperatures, not by anomalous SSTs. Similar to tropical cyclones, minimal
wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
—difference in wind speed and direction over a region—as well as abundant moisture and vorticity encourages the genesis of tropical cyclone-like systems in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the confined character of the Mediterranean and the limited capability of
heat flux Heat flux or thermal flux, sometimes also referred to as ''heat flux density'', heat-flow density or ''heat flow rate intensity'' is a flow of energy per unit area per unit time. In SI its units are watts per square metre (W/m2). It has both a ...
es—in the case of medicanes, air—sea heat transfer—tropical cyclones with a diameter larger than cannot exist within the Mediterranean. Despite being a relatively baroclinic area with high temperature gradients, the primary energy source utilized by Mediterranean tropical cyclones is derived from underlying heat sources generated by the presence of convection—thunderstorm activity—in a humid environment, similar to tropical cyclones elsewhere outside the Mediterranean Sea. In comparison with other
tropical cyclone basins Traditionally, areas of tropical cyclone formation are divided into seven basins. These include the north Atlantic Ocean, the eastern and western parts of the northern Pacific Ocean, the southwestern Pacific, the southwestern and southeastern Ind ...
, the Mediterranean Sea generally presents a difficult environment for development; although the potential energy necessary for development is not abnormally large, its atmosphere is characterized by its lack of moisture, impeding potential formation. The full development of a medicane often necessitates the formation of a large-scale baroclinic disturbance, transitioning late in its life cycle into a tropical cyclone-like system, nearly always under the influence of a deep, cut-off,
cold-core low A cold-core low, also known as an upper level low or cold-core cyclone, is a cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere, without a frontal structure. It is a low pressure syst ...
within the middle-to-upper
troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...
, frequently resulting from abnormalities in a wide-spreading
Rossby wave Rossby waves, also known as planetary waves, are a type of inertial wave naturally occurring in rotating fluids. They were first identified by Sweden-born American meteorologist Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby. They are observed in the atmospheres and ...
—massive
meanders A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank w ...
of upper-atmospheric winds. The development of medicanes often results from the vertical shift of air in the troposphere as well, resulting in a decrease in its temperature coinciding with an increase in relative humidity, creating an environment more conducive for tropical cyclone formation. This, in turn, leads to in an increase in potential energy, producing heat-induced air-sea instability. Moist air prevents the occurrence of convective
downdrafts In meteorology, an updraft is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud. Overview Localized regions of warm or cool air will exhibit vertical movement. A mass of warm air will typically be less dense than the surrounding region, ...
—the vertically downward movement of air—which often hinder the inception of tropical cyclones, and in such a scenario, wind shear remains minimal; overall, cold-core cut-off lows serve well for the later formation of compact surface flux-influenced warm-core lows such as medicanes. The regular genesis of cold-core upper-level lows and the infrequency of Mediterranean tropical cyclones, however, indicate that additional unusual circumstances are involved the emergence of the latter. Elevated sea surface temperatures, contrasting with cold atmospheric air, encourage atmospheric instability, especially within the troposphere. In general, most medicanes maintain a radius of , last between 12 hours and 5 days, travel between , develop an eye for less than 72 hours, and feature wind speeds of up to ; in addition, a majority are characterized on
satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...
as asymmetric systems with a distinct round eye encircled by
atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air masses lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the ...
. Weak rotation, similar to that in most tropical cyclones, is usually noted in a medicane's early stages, increasing with intensity; medicanes, however, often have less time to intensify, remaining weaker than most
North Atlantic hurricane An Atlantic hurricane, also known as tropical storm or simply hurricane, is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily between the months of June and November. A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of ...
s and only persisting for the duration of a few days. The theoretical
maximum potential intensity The maximum potential intensity of a tropical cyclone is the theoretical limit of the strength of a tropical cyclone. Maximum potential intensity Due to surface friction, the inflow only partially conserves angular momentum. Thus, the sea surface ...
of medicanes is equivalent to the lowest classification on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, a Category 1 hurricane. While the entire lifetime of a cyclone may encompass several days, most will only retain tropical characteristics for less than 24 hours. Circumstances sometimes permit the formation of smaller-scale medicanes, although the required conditions differ even from those needed by other medicanes. The development of abnormally small tropical cyclones in the Mediterranean usually requires upper-level atmospheric cyclones inducing cyclogenesis in the lower atmosphere, leading to the formation of warm-core lows, encouraged by favorable moisture, heat, and other environmental circumstances. Mediterranean cyclones have been compared with
polar low A polar low is a mesoscale, short-lived atmospheric low pressure area, low pressure system (depression) that is found over the ocean areas poleward of the main polar front in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, as well as the Sea of Japan ...
s—cyclonic storms which typically develop in the far regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—for their similarly small size and heat-related instability; however, while medicanes nearly always feature warm-core lows, polar lows are primarily cold-core. The prolonged life of medicanes and similarity to polar lows is caused primarily by origins as synoptic-scale surface lows and heat-related instability. Heavy precipitation and convection within a developing Mediterranean tropical cyclone are usually incited by the approach of an upper-level
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
—an elongated area of low air pressures—bringing downstream cold air, encircling an existing low-pressure system. After this occurs, however, a considerable reduction in rainfall rates occurs despite further organization, coinciding with a decrease in previously high lightning activity as well. Although troughs will often accompany medicanes along their track, separation eventually occurs, usually in the later part of a Mediterranean tropical cyclone's life cycle. At the same time, moist air, saturated and cooled while rising into the atmosphere, then encounters the medicane, permitting further development and evolution into a tropical cyclone. Many of these characteristics are also evident in polar lows, except for the warm core characteristic.


Notable medicanes and impacts


22–27 Sep 1969

An unusually severe Mediterranean tropical cyclone developed on 23 September 1969 southeast of
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, producing severe flooding. Steep pressure and temperature gradients above the Atlas mountain range were evident on 19 September, a result of cool sea air attempting to penetrate inland; south of the mountains, a lee depression—a
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
in a mountainous region—developed. Under the influence of mountainous terrain, the low initially meandered northeastward. Following the entry of cool sea air, however, it recurved to the southeast before transitioning into a Saharan depression associated with a distinct cold front by 22 September. Along the front's path, desert air moved northward while cold air drifted in the opposite direction, and in northern Libya, warm arid air clashed with the cooler
levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
of the Mediterranean. The organization of the disturbance improved slightly further before emerging into the Mediterranean Sea on 23 September, upon which the system experienced immediate
cyclogenesis Cyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere (a low-pressure area). Cyclogenesis is an umbrella term for at least three different processes, all of which result in the development of some sort of cyc ...
, rapidly intensifying while southeast of Malta as a cold-core cut-off low, and acquiring tropical characteristics. In western Africa, meanwhile, several disturbances converged toward
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
and
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, while the medicane recurved southwestward back toward the coast, losing its closed circulation and later dissipating. The cyclone produced severe flooding throughout regions of northern Africa. Malta received upward of of rainfall on 23 September,
Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
measured on 24 September,
Tizi Ouzou Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylie region after Bejaia. History Etymology The name ''Tizi Ouzou' ...
collected on 25 September,
Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...
received and
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
measured on 26 September, Cap Bengut collected on 27 September, and
Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&nbs ...
received on 28 September. In Malta, a 20000-ton tanker struck a reef and split in two, while in Gafsa, Tunisia, the cyclone flooded
phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
mines, leaving over 25,000 miners unemployed and costing the government over £2 million per week. Thousands of camels and snakes, drowned by flood waters, were swept out to sea, and massive
Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ke ...
s, which withstood all floods since the
fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
, collapsed. In all, the floods in Tunisia and Algeria killed almost 600 individuals, left 250,000 homeless, and severely damaged regional economies. Due to communication problems, however, flood relief funds and television appeals were not set up until nearly a month later.


Leucosia (24–27 Jan 1982)

The unusual Mediterranean tropical storm of January 1982, dubbed ''Leucosia'', was first detected in waters north of
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. The storm likely reached the Atlas mountain range as a
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
by 23 January 1982, reinforced by an elongated, slowly-drifting trough above the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. Eventually, a closed circulation center developed by 1310  UTC, over parts of the Mediterranean with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of approximately and air temperature of . A hook-shaped cloud developed within the system shortly thereafter, rotating as it elongated into a -long comma-shaped apparatus. After looping around Sicily, it drifted eastward between the island and
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, recurving on its track again, exhibiting clearly curved spiral banding before shrinking slightly. The cyclone reached its peak intensity at 1800 UTC on the following day, maintaining an
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of , and was succeeded by a period of gradual weakening, with the system's pressure eventually rising to . The system slightly reintensified, however, for a six-hour period on 26 January. Ship reports indicated winds of were present in the cyclone at the time, tropical storm-force winds on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, likely near the eyewall of the cyclone, which features the highest winds in a tropical cyclone. The Global Weather Center's Cyclone Weather Center of the United States Air Force (USAF) initiated "Mediterranean Cyclone Advisories" on the cyclone at six-hour intervals starting at 1800 UTC on 27 January, until 0600 UTC on the following day. Convection was most intense in the eastern sector of the cyclone as it drifted east-northeastward. On infrared satellite imagery, the eye itself was in diameter, contracting to just one day prior to making landfall. The cyclone passed by Malta,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and Greece before dissipating several days later, in the extreme eastern Mediterranean. Observations related to the cyclone, however, were inadequate, and although the system maintained numerous tropical characteristics, it is possible it was merely a compact but powerful
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
exhibiting a clear eye, spiral banding, towering cumulonimbi, and high surface winds along the eyewall.


27 Sep – 2 October 1983

On 27 September 1983, a medicane was observed at sea between
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, looping around
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, coming ashore twice on the islands, before making landfall at
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
early on 2 October and dissipating. The development of the system was not encouraged by
baroclinic In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the densi ...
instability; rather, convection was incited by abnormally high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at the time of its formation. It also featured a definitive eye, tall
cumulonimbus cloud Cumulonimbus (from Latin ''cumulus'', "heaped" and ''nimbus'', "rainstorm") is a dense, towering vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents. ...
s, intense sustained winds, and a warm core. For most of its duration, it maintained a diameter of , though it shrank just before landfall on
Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...
to a diameter of .


Celeno (14–17 Jan 1995)

Among numerous documented medicanes, the cyclone of January 1995, which was dubbed ''Celeno'', is generally considered to be the best-documented instance in the 20th century. The storm emerged from the
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
n coast and moved toward the Ionian shoreline of
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
on 13 January as a compact
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
. The medicane maintained winds reaching up to as it traversed the Ionian Sea, while the German research ship ''Meteor'' recorded winds of . Upon the low's approach near Greece, it began to envelop an area of
atmospheric convection Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air masses lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the ...
; meanwhile, in the middle
troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...
, a
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
extended from Russia to the Mediterranean, bringing with it extremely cold temperatures. Two low-pressure areas were present along the path of the trough, with one situated above Ukraine and the other above the central Mediterranean, likely associated with a low-level cyclone over western Greece. Upon weakening and dissipation on 14 January, a second low, the system which would evolve into the Mediterranean tropical cyclone, developed in its place on 15 January. At the time of formation, high clouds indicated the presence of intense convection, and the cyclone featured an axisymmetric cloud structure, with a distinct, cloud-free eye and
rainband A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective, and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar ima ...
s spiraling around the disturbance as a whole. Soon thereafter, the parent low separated from the medicane entirely and continued eastward, meandering toward the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Initially remaining stationary between Greece and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
with a minimum
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of , the newly formed system began to drift southwest-to-south in the following days, influenced by northeasterly flow incited by the initial low, now far to the east, and a
high-pressure area A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...
above central and eastern Europe. The system's atmospheric pressure increased throughout 15 January due to the fact it was embedded within a large-scale environment, with its rising pressure due to the general prevalence of higher air pressures throughout the region, and was not a sign of weakening. Initial wind speeds within the young medicane were generally low, with sustained winds of merely , with the highest recorded value associated with the disturbance being at 0000 UTC on 16 January, slightly below the threshold for tropical storm on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Its structure now consisted of a distinct eye encircled by counterclockwise-rotating cumulonimbi with
cloud top Cloud Top () is a 30-story, tall residential twin skyscraper complex located in Xinyi Special District, Taipei, Taiwan. The complex used to be the tallest residential skyscrapers in Taipei when completed in 1997. Built under strict requirement ...
temperatures colder than , evidencing deep convection and a regular feature observed in most tropical cyclones. At 1200 UTC on 16 January, a ship recorded winds blowing east-southeast of about south-southwest about north-northeast of the cyclone's center. Intense convection continued to follow the entire path of the system as it traversed the Mediterranean, and the cyclone made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in northern Libya at approximately 1800  UTC on 17 January, rapidly weakening after coming ashore. As it moved inland, a minimum atmospheric pressure of was recorded, accompanied by wind speeds of as it slowed down after passing through the
Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...
. Although the system retained its strong convection for several more hours, the cyclone's cloud tops began to warm, evidencing lower clouds, before losing tropical characteristics entirely on 17 January. Offshore ship reports recorded that the medicane produced intense winds, copious rainfall, and abnormally warm temperatures.


11–13 Sep 1996

Three notable medicanes developed in 1996. The first, in mid-September 1996, was a typical Mediterranean tropical cyclone that developed in the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
region. At the time of the cyclone's formation, a powerful Atlantic
cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...
and a
warm front A warm front is a density discontinuity located at the leading edge of a homogeneous warm air mass, and is typically located on the equator-facing edge of an isotherm gradient. Warm fronts lie within broader troughs of low pressure than cold fro ...
associated with a large-scale low, producing northeasterly winds over the Iberian peninsula, extended eastward into the Mediterranean, while abundant moisture gathered in the lower troposphere over the Balearic channel. On the morning of 12 September, a disturbance developed off of
Valencia, Spain Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
, dropping heavy rainfall on the coast even without coming ashore. An eye developed shortly thereafter as the system rapidly traversed across
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
in its eastward trek. It made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
upon the coast of southern Italy on the evening of 13 September with a minimum atmospheric pressure of , dissipating shortly after coming ashore, with a diameter of about . At Valencia and other regions of eastern Spain, the storm generated heavy precipitation, while six tornadoes touched down over the Balearic Islands. While approaching the coast of the Balearic Islands, the warm-core low induced a pressure drop of 11 mbar (0.32 inHg) at
Palma, Majorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorc ...
in advance of the tropical cyclone's landfall. Medicanes as small as the one that formed in September 1996 are atypical, and often require circumstances different even from those required for regular Mediterranean tropical cyclone formation. Warm low-level
advection In the field of physics, engineering, and earth sciences, advection is the transport of a substance or quantity by bulk motion of a fluid. The properties of that substance are carried with it. Generally the majority of the advected substance is al ...
–transfer of heat through air or sea–caused by a large-scale low over the western Mediterranean was a primary factor in the rise of strong convection. The presence of a mid- to upper-level cut-off
cold-core low A cold-core low, also known as an upper level low or cold-core cyclone, is a cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere, without a frontal structure. It is a low pressure syst ...
, a method of formation typical to medicanes, was also key to the development of intense thunderstorms within the cyclone. In addition, interaction between a northeastward-drifting
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
, the medicane, and the large-scale also permitted the formation of tornadoes within thunderstorms generated by the cyclone after making landfall.


4–6 Oct 1996

The second of the three recorded Mediterranean tropical cyclones in 1996 formed between Sicily and
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
on 4 October, making landfall on both Sicily and southern Italy. The medicane generated major flooding in Sicily. In
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, wind gusts of up to were reported in addition to severe inundation.


Cornelia (6–11 Oct 1996)

The third major Mediterranean tropical cyclone of that year formed north of
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, and strengthened while sweeping between the Balearic Islands and Sardinia, with an eye-like feature prominent on satellite. The storm was unofficially named ''Cornelia''. The eye of the storm was distorted and disappeared after transiting over southern Sardinia throughout the evening of 8 October, with the system weakening as a whole. On the morning of October 9, a smaller eye emerged as the system passed over the
Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
, gradually strengthening, with reports from the storm's center reporting winds of . Extreme damage was reported in the
Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after ...
after the tropical cyclone passed north of Sicily, though the system dissipated while turning southward over Calabria. Overall, the lowest estimated atmospheric pressure in the third medicane was 998 mbar (29.47 inHg). Both October systems featured distinctive spiral bands, intense convection, high sustained winds, and abundant precipitation.


Querida (25–27 Sep 2006)

A short-lived medicane, named ''Querida'' by the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
, developed near the end of September 2006, along the coast of Italy. The origins of the medicane can be traced to the alpine Atlas mountain range on the evening of 25 September, likely forming as a normal lee cyclone. At 0600  UTC on 26 September, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model analyses indicated the existence of two
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
s along the shoreline of Italy, one on the west coast, sweeping eastward across the
Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
, while the other, slightly more intense, low was located over the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
. As the latter low approached the
Strait of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...
, it met an eastward-moving convection-producing
cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...
, resulting in significant intensification, while the system simultaneously reduced in size. It then achieved a minimum
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
of approximately after transiting north-northeastward across the -wide Salentine peninsula in the course of roughly 30 minutes at 0915 UTC the same day. Wind gusts surpassing were recorded as it passed over Salento due to a steep
pressure gradient In atmospheric science, the pressure gradient (typically of Earth's atmosphere, air but more generally of any fluid) is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the pressure increases the most rapidly around a particu ...
associated with it, confirmed by regional radar observations denoting the presence of a clear eye. The high winds inflicted moderate damages throughout the peninsula, though specific damage is unknown. Around 1000 UTC, both radar and satellite recorded the system's entry into the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
and its gradual northwestward curve back toward the Italian coast. By 1700 UTC, the cyclone made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in northern
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
while maintaining its intensity, with a minimum atmospheric pressure at . The cyclone weakened while drifting further inland over the Italian mainland, eventually dissipating as it curved west-southwestward. A later study in 2008 evaluated that the cyclone possessed numerous characteristics seen in tropical cyclones elsewhere, with a spiral appearance, eye-like apparatus, rapid atmospheric pressure decreases in advance of landfall, and intense sustained winds, concentrated near the storm's eyewall; the apparent eye-like structure in the cyclone, however, was ill-defined. Since then, the medicane has been the subject of significant study as a result of the availability of scientific observations and reports related to the cyclone. In particular, the sensitivity of this cyclone to sea-surface temperatures, initial conditions, the model, and the parameterization schemes used in the simulations were analyzed. The relevance of different instability indices for the diagnosis and the prediction of these events were also studied.


Rolf (6–9 Nov 2011)

In November 2011, the first officially designated Mediterranean tropical cyclone by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) formed, christened as Tropical Storm 01M by the
Satellite Analysis Branch The United States Satellite Analysis Branch, part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Satellite Services Division, is the operational focal point for r ...
, and given the name Rolf by the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), despite the fact that no agency is officially responsible for monitoring tropical cyclone activity in the Mediterranean. On 4 November 2011, a frontal system associated with another low-pressure area monitored by FU Berlin, designated Quinn, spawned a second low-pressure system inland near
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, which was subsequently named Rolf by the university. An upper-level
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
on the European mainland stalled as it approached the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
, before approaching and interacting with the low known as Rolf. Heavy rainfall consequently fell over regions of southern France and northwestern Italy, resulting in widespread
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s and flooding. On 5 November, Rolf slowed while stationed above the
Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
, maintaining a pressure of . A
stationary front A stationary front (or quasi-stationary front) is a weather front or transition zone between two air masses when both air mass is advancing into the other at speeds exceeding 5 knots (about 6 miles per hour or about 9 kilometers per hour) at the g ...
, stationed between
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, approached Rolf the same day, with the cold front later encountering and becoming associated with Rolf, which would continue for a couple of days. On 6 November, the cyclone drifted toward the Mediterranean from the southern shoreline of France, with the storm's frontal structure shrinking to in length. Slightly weakening, Rolf neared the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
on 7 November, associating with two fronts producing heavy rain throughout Europe, before separating entirely and transitioning into a cut-off low. On the same day, the NOAA began monitoring the system, designating it as ''01M'', marking the first time that the agency officially monitored a Medicane. A distinct eye-like feature developed while spiral banding and intense convection became evident. At its highest, the
Dvorak technique The Dvorak technique (developed between 1969 and 1984 by Vernon Dvorak) is a widely used system to estimate tropical cyclone intensity (which includes tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane/typhoon/intense tropical cyclone intensitie ...
classified the system as T3.0. Convection then gradually decreased, and a misalignment of the mid- and upper-level centers was noted. The cyclone made landfall on 9 November near Hyères in France. The system continued to rapidly weaken on 9 November, before advisories on the system were discontinued later that day, and FU Berlin followed suit by 10 November, removing the name Rolf from its weather maps and declaring the storm's dissipation. The deep warm core of this cyclone persisted for a longer time compared to most of the other documented tropical-like cyclones in the Mediterranean. At peak intensity, the storm's maximum sustained wind speed reached , with a minimum pressure of . During a nine-day period, from 1–9 November, Storm Quinn and Rolf dropped prolific amounts of rainfall across southwestern Europe, the vast majority of which came from Rolf, with a maximum total of of rain recorded in southern France. The storm caused at least $1.25 billion (2011 USD) in damages in Italy and France. The sum of fatalities totaled 12 people from Italy and France.


Qendresa (7–9 Nov 2014)

On 6 November 2014, the low-level circulation centre of Qendresa formed near
Kerkennah Islands Kerkennah Islands ( aeb, قرقنة '; Ancient Greek: ''Κέρκιννα Cercinna''; Spanish:''Querquenes'') are a group of islands lying off the east coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabès, at . The Islands are low-lying, being no more than Abo ...
. As the system was moving north-northeastwards and combining with an upper-level low from
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
early on 7 November, the system occluded quickly and intensified dramatically with an eye-like feature, thanks to favourable conditions. Qendresa directly hit
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
when it had lost its fronts with a more well-defined eye, with ten-minute sustained winds at and the gust at . The central pressure was presumed to be . Interacting with
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, the cyclone turned northeastwards and started to make an anticlockwise loop. On 8 November, Qendresa crossed
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
in the morning and then significantly weakened. Turning southeastwards then moving eastwards, Qendresa moved over
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, before dissipating over the island on 11 November.


90M/"Trixi" (28–31 Oct 2016)

Early on 28 October 2016, an extratropical cyclone began to develop to the south of
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, in the Ionian sea. The system quickly intensified, attaining wind speeds of as it slowly moved to the west, causing high waves and minor damage to cars near the Malta, Maltese city of Valletta, weakening the following day and beginning to move eastwards. However, later that day, it began to re-intensify and underwent a tropical transition. At 12:00 UTC on 30 October, the system showed 10-minute sustained winds of . It became a tropical storm on 31 October. After passing over
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, the storm began to quickly weaken, with the storm degenerating into an extratropical low on 1 November. Tropical Storm 90M was also nicknamed "''Medicane Trixi''" by some media outlets in Europe during its duration. No fatalities or rainfall statistics have been reported for this system that was over open waters for most of the time.


Numa (16–19 Nov 2017)

On 11 November 2017, the remnant of 2017 Atlantic hurricane season#Tropical Storm Rina, Tropical Storm Rina from the Atlantic contributed to the formation of a new extratropical cyclone, west of the British Isles, which later absorbed Rina on the next day. On 12 November, the new storm was named Numa by the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
. On 14 November 2017, Extratropical Cyclone Numa emerged into the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. On the following day, while crossing Italy, Numa began to undergo a subtropical transition, though the system was still extratropical by 16 November. The storm began to impact Greece as a strong storm on 16 November. Some computer models forecast that Numa could transition into a warm-core subtropical or
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
within the next few days. On 17 November, Numa completely lost its frontal system. On the afternoon of the same day, Météo France Twitter, tweeted that Numa had attained the status of a subtropical Mediterranean depression. According to ESTOFEX, Numa showed numerous flags of 10-minute sustained winds in satellite data. Between 18:00 UTC on 17 November and 5:00 UTC on 18 November, Numa acquired evident
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
characteristics, and began to display a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
-like structure. ESTOFEX again reported . Later on the same day, Numa made landfall in Greece with a station at Kefalonia reporting peak winds of at . The cyclone rapidly weakened into a
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
, before emerging into the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
on 19 November. On 20 November, Numa was absorbed into another extratropical storm approaching from the north. Numa hit Greece at a time when the soil was already heavily soaked from other storm systems that did arrive before Numa. The area was forecast to receive up to more than of additional rains in an 48 hours period starting with 16 November. No rainfall forecasts or measurements are known for the following days while Numa was still battering Greece. Numa resulted in 21 reported deaths. At least 1,500 homes were flooded, and residents had to evacuate their homes. The storm caused an estimated US$100 million in damages in Europe and was the deadliest weather event Greece had experienced since 1977.


Zorbas (27 Sep – 1 October 2018)

A first outlook about the possible development of a shallow warm-core cyclone in the Mediterranean was issued by
ESTOFEX The European Storm Forecast Experiment, known as ESTOFEX, is an initiative of a team of European meteorologists, and students in meteorology founded in 2002. It serves as a platform for exchange of knowledge about forecasting severe convective sto ...
on 25 September 2018, and a second extended outlook was issued on 26 September 2018. On 27 September 2018, an extratropical storm developed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Water temperatures of around supported the storm's transition into a subtropical cyclone, hybrid cyclone, with a warm thermal core in the center. The storm moved northeastward toward Greece, gradually intensifying and developing characteristics of a tropical cyclone. On September 29, the storm made landfall at peak intensity in the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, west of Kalamata, where a minimum central pressure of was reported. ESTOFEX reported on Zorbas as "Mediterranean Cyclone 2018M02", with the same pressure of at Kalamata, further estimating the minimum central pressure of the cyclone to be , with one-minute maximum sustained winds of and a Dvorak technique, Dvorak number of T4.0, which all translate into marginal Category 1 hurricane characteristics for the cyclone. It is unknown who named the system ''Zorbas'', but the name is officially recognized for a ''medicane'' by the
Deutscher Wetterdienst The () or DWD for short, is the German Meteorological Service, based in Offenbach am Main, Germany, which monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and provides weather services for the general public and for nautical, avia ...
. Early on 1 October, Zorbas emerged into the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
, while accelerating northeastward. On 2 October, Zorbas moved over northwestern
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and dissipated. A cold wake was observed in the Mediterranean Sea, with sea surface temperatures dropping along the track of Zorbas due to strong upwelling. During its formative stages, the storm caused flash flooding in Tunisia and Libya, with around of rainfall observed. The floods killed five people in Tunisia, while also damaging homes, roads, and fields. The Tunisian government pledged financial assistance to residents whose homes were damaged. In advance of the storm's landfall in Greece, the Hellenic National Meteorological Office issued a severe warning. Several flights were canceled, and schools were closed. The offshore islands of Strofades and Rhodes reported gale-force winds during the storm's passage. A private weather station in Voutsaras, Arcadia, Voutsaras measured wind gusts of . The storm spawned a waterspout that moved onshore. Gale-force winds in Athens knocked down trees and power lines. A fallen tree destroyed the roof of a school in western Athens. Dozens of roads were closed due to flooding. In Ioannina, the storm damaged the minaret on the top of the Aslan Pasha Mosque, which dates to 1614. From 29 to 30 September, Zorbas produced flash flooding in Greece and parts of western Turkey, with the storm dropping as much as in Greece and spawning multiple waterspouts. Three people were reporting missing in Greece after the flash floods; one person was found dead, but the other two individuals remained missing, as of 3 October. Zorbas was estimated to have caused millions of dollars (2018 USD) in damages.


Ianos (14–20 Sep 2020)

On 14 September 2020, a low-pressure area began to develop over the
Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...
, quickly developing in the coming hours while slowly moving northwest with a wind speed of around . By 15 September, it had intensified to with a minimum pressure of 1010 hPa, with further development predicted over the coming days. The cyclone had strong potential to become tropical over the next several days due to warm sea temperatures of in the region. Weather models predicted that it would likely hit the west coast of Greece on 17 or 18 September. Ianos gradually intensified over the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, acquiring an eye-like feature. Ianos made landfall on Greece at peak intensity on 03:00 UTC on September 18, with winds peaking near and a minimum central pressure estimated at , equivalent to a minimal Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 2, Category 2 hurricane. Greece assigned the system the name "Ianos" (), sometimes anglicized to "Janus", while the German weather service used the name "Udine"; the Turkish used "Tulpar", and the Italians "Cassilda". As Ianos passed to the south of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on 16 September, it produced heavy rain across the southern part of the country and in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. As much as of rain was reported in Reggio Calabria, more than the city's normal monthly rainfall. Ianos left four dead people and one missing, in addition to strong tides in Ionian islands such as Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Ithaca (island), Ithaca and Lefkada, and winds at Karditsa which brought down trees and power lines, and caused landslides.


Apollo (22 Oct – 2 Nov 2021)

Around 22 October 2021, an area of organized thunderstorms formed near the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
, with the disturbance becoming more organized and developing an area of low pressure around 24 October. The low started to form a low level center the next day and moved around the
Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
, and around 28 October, the low became better organized, prompting forecast offices in Europe to name it. The most commonly used name for the cyclone is ''Apollo'', which was used by the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
. On the same day, the agency Meteo of the National Observatory of Athens in Greece named it ''Nearchus'', Nearchus, after the voyager of the same name. Heavy rain from the cyclone and its precursor caused heavy rainfall and flooding in
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, Southern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, killing seven people in total. The storm caused over US$245 million (€219 million) in damages.


Blas (5–18 Nov 2021)

On 5 November, the State Meteorological Agency, Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) started tracking a low near the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
and named it ''Blas''. An orange alert was issued for these islands, for coastal impacts and rain. The north of Catalonia was declared an Orange Zone, as strong winds blew inland from the Navarre, Spanish Navarre and Aragon.
Météo-France Météo-France is the French national meteorological service. Organisation The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
also issued a yellow alert for Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales for wind, as well as
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
for rain. As the system stalled between
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
and the Balearic Islands on 8 November, AEMET predicted a strengthening trend for the next two days and maintained its alerts. At 00:00 UTC on 11 November, the system came very close to the Balearic Islands again. On 13 November, the storm developed a spiral structure similar to those of tropical cyclones, while shedding its frontal structure. After striking the islands again, the storm then slowly weakened while drifting back southeastward. On 14 November, the cyclone turned northward, moving over Sardinia and Corsica, before curving back southwestward on 15 November and moving over Sardinia again, while restrengthening in the process. On 16 November, Blas turned eastward once again, passing just south of Sardinia and moving towards Italy, before dissipating over the Tyrrhenian Sea on 18 November. On 6 November, gusts of were recorded at Es Mercadal and at the lighthouse of Capdepera in the Balearic Islands where waves of hit the coast. Menorca was cut off from the world after the closure of the ports of Mahón and Ciutadella de Menorca, Ciutadella. On 9 and 10 November, ''Blas'' brought high winds and heavy rain again to the Balearic Islands, causing at least 36 incidents, mostly flooding, landslides and blackouts. A crew member had to be rescued after his sailboat's mast broke, leaving the boat adrift west of Sóller. On 6 November, a waterspout was reported in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the coast of Morocco. In France, gusts of were recorded on 7 November at Cap Béar, as well as in Leucate and in Lézignan-Corbières. The storm caused severe weather on the Algerian coast, with exceptional rainfall. On 9 November, a building collapsed in Algiers, following torrential rains on the city, causing the deaths of three people. On 11 November, the heavy rain falling on Algiers caused another landslide to strike houses in the Raïs Hamidou, Algeria, Raïs Hamidou neighborhood, causing the deaths of three other people. From 8 to 11 November, convective bands associated with the storm caused 3 deaths in Sicily, bringing the total death toll to nine people. Damage from the storm has not yet been assessed.


Other tropical-like cyclones

Numerous other Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones have occurred, but few have been as well-documented as the medicanes in 1969, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2020. These not-so-much investigated tropical-like cyclones and their dates are given below. A first study in 2000 revealed five notable and well-developed medicanes. A second study in 2013 revealed several additional storms with their formation days and also additional information on medicanes. A third study, conducted in 2007, revealed additional storms with their formation days. A fourth study from 2013 presented several other cyclones and their days of development. A survey made by EUMETSAT resulted in many more cyclones. * September 1947 * September 1973 * 18–20 August 1976 * 26 March 1983 * 7 April 1984, * 29–30 December 1984 * 14–18 December 1985 * January 1991, 5 December 1991 * 21–25 October 1994 * 10–13 December 1996 * 22–27 September 1997, 30–31 October 1997, 5–8 December 1997 * 25–27 January 1998 * 19–21 March 1999, 13 September 1999 * 10 September 2000, 9 October 2000 * 27–28 May 2003, 16–19 September 2003, 27–28 September 2003, 8 October 2003 * 19–21 September 2004, 3–5 November 2004 * August 2005, 15–16 September 2005, 22–23 October 2005, 26–28 October 2005, 14–16 December 2005 * 9 August 2006 * 19–23 March 2007 16–18 October 2007, 26 October 2007 * June 2008, August 2008, September 2008, 4 December 2008 * January 2009, May 2009, twice in September 2009, October 2009 * 12–14 October 2010, 2–4 November 2010 * Twice in February 2012, 13–15 April 2012. * "Scott", October 2019 * "Trudy" ("Detlef"), November 2019 * November 2020 * 03M/"Elaina", December 2020


Climatological statistics

There have been 100 recognized tropical-like cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea between 1947 and 2021 from the databases of the ''Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment'', University of Athens, and METEOSAT. By steady accrual of reported and recognized occurrences of tropical-like cyclones (medicanes), the number count reached at least 89 by 15 November 2021. Unlike most northern hemisphere cyclone seasons, Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone activity peaks between the months of September and January. DateFormat=yyyy ImageSize= width:350 height:auto barincrement:35 Period = from:0 till:21 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors= id:blue value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) id:minorline value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:line value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:M bar:Jan from:0 till:9 color:blue text:"January" bar:Feb from:0 till:4 color:blue text:"February" bar:Mar from:0 till:5 color:blue text:"March" bar:Apr from:0 till:2 color:blue text:"April" bar:May from:0 till:2 color:blue text:"May" bar:Jun from:0 till:1 color:blue text:"June" bar:Jul from:0 till:1 color:blue text:"July" bar:Aug from:0 till:5 color:blue text:"August" bar:Sep from:0 till:19 color:blue text:"September" bar:Oct from:0 till:18 color:blue text:"October" bar:Nov from:0 till:10 color:blue text:"November" bar:Dec from:0 till:13 color:blue text:"December" ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:3 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:minorline unit:year increment:1 start:0 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(50,25) # tabs:(100-left) text:"Number of storms in the Mediterranean Sea" The numbers do not necessarily mean that all occurrences of medicanes have been fetched in particular before the end of the 1980s. With the development (and constant improvement) of satellite-based observations, the number count of clearly identified medicanes increased from the 1980s onward. There might be an additional impact from climate change in the frequency of the observed medicanes, but this is not deducible from the data. DateFormat=yyyy ImageSize= width:350 height:auto barincrement:35 Period = from:0 till:30 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors= id:blue value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) id:minorline value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:line value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:M bar:1940s from:0 till:2 color:blue text:"1940s" bar:1950s from:0 till:0 color:blue text:"1950s" bar:1960s from:0 till:1 color:blue text:"1960s" bar:1970s from:0 till:2 color:blue text:"1970s" bar:1980s from:0 till:7 color:blue text:"1980s" bar:1990s from:0 till:15 color:blue text:"1990s" bar:2000s from:0 till:27 color:blue text:"2000s" bar:2010s from:0 till:20 color:blue text:"2010s" bar:2020s from:0 till:6 color:blue text:"2020s" ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:3 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:minorline unit:year increment:1 start:0 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(50,25) # tabs:(100-left) text:"Number of storms in the Mediterranean Sea"


Deadly storms

The following is a list of all medicanes that caused deaths.


Tropical-like cyclones in the Black Sea

On a number of occasions, tropical-like storms similar to the tropical-like cyclones observed in the Mediterranean have formed in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, including storms on 21 March 2002, 7–11 August 2002, and 25–29 September 2005. The 25–29 September 2005 cyclone is particularly well-documented and investigated. No known cyclones in the Black Sea have attained hurricane strength.


Naming list

2022 is the second year in which the meteorological agencies of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Malta will be naming storms that affect their areas. This is the same naming list used for European windstorms that affect those countries. The naming list of 2022 is:


See also

*Tropical cyclogenesis#Unusual areas of formation, Unusual areas of tropical cyclone formation *Tropical cyclone effects in Europe *European windstorm (fully extratropical) *South Atlantic tropical cyclone *1996 Lake Huron cyclone *2006 Central Pacific cyclone *Subtropical Storm 96C *Subtropical Cyclone Katie *Subtropical Cyclone Lexi *Tropical cyclone basins *Tropical cyclogenesis


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Mediterranean Tropical Products Page – Satellite Services Division – Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution


– NOAA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mediterranean tropical cyclone Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, Tropical cyclone meteorology Climate change and hurricanes Hurricanes in Europe, Types of cyclone Natural disasters