[ad_1]
Thursday 17 September 2020
A Mediterranean hurricane, also known as medicane, is actually a rare phenomenon. Now “wool” is wreaking havoc on the west side of Greece. Ferry connections to the mainland have collapsed. The civil defense warns the population. Athens could also be affected.
A severe autumn storm with characteristics of a hurricane has reached western Greece. Meteorologist Christina Souzi spoke on the “Skai” news channel about a so-called Medicane, a Mediterranean hurricane. The islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia, as well as Ithaca, were initially affected. Ferry connections to the mainland collapsed. Greek meteorologists called the storm “Ianos” (Latin: Janus). They had a better weather since Sunday night.
“A Medicane arises when in reality there is a normal low level in very warm waters (at the moment it is still above 27 degrees in parts of the Mediterranean Sea) increasingly intensified and therefore acquires more and more tropical properties “says ntv meteorologist Björn Alexander. “From a meteorological point of view, it becomes the so-called Medicane, a Mediterranean hurricane. On our meteorological maps, this low was called ‘Udine’. In southern Europe it is also called ‘Cassilda'” .
*Privacy
As soon as the Medicane hits the mainland, it becomes less violent. A medicane is accompanied by strong winds and rain. “It was a rare phenomenon in the Mediterranean. Now, with climate change, it will probably happen more often,” said the head of the Greek Meteorological Office, Kostas Lagouvardos, on state television. In the morning, the winds on Zakynthos reached a strength of ten to eleven, as announced by the meteorological office.
In the open sea and in the area of the islands near the coast, the meteorological computers calculate gusts of up to 180 kilometers per hour before the weekend, Alexander continues. “By the way, this corresponds in strength to a Category 1 to 2 hurricane out of 5.” The other Ionian islands and parts of Greece will also receive hurricane gusts of more than 140 kilometers per hour off the coast. “The waves must reach heights of between five and ten meters in open water.”
Individual tornadoes are also possible. Also, a strong electrical storm falls. At peak, 150 to 300 liters per square meter could be possible up to and including Saturday. “In arid soil at risk of landslides and floods,” says meteorologist Alexander.
“Do not go outside. Secure everything that can fly. Go to the upper floors if there are floods,” said the head of Civil Defense, Nikos Chardalias, after an emergency meeting in Athens on state television (ERT). The meteorological department asked the sailors to go to the nearest port as soon as possible. Schools in eight regions, over which the Medicane is supposed to sweep, should remain closed on Friday, the civil service ordered.
The regions that are likely to be hit the hardest apart from the islands of the Ionian Sea are the Peloponnese peninsula, central Greece and, in some cases, the island of Crete. “But we can’t say exactly how Medicane will move,” meteorologist Lagouvardos said on state television. Heavy rains and stormy winds should also hit Athens on Friday, he said.
