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Medicane Ionas (Mediterranean TC)


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A low pressure system SSE of the Italy/Anatolia Peninsula in the Ionian Sea has become warm core and acquired TC characteristics. It has a nascent eye feature and good banding, likely producing strong TS force sustained winds and potential hurricane gusts. It is forecast to make landfall in Greece.

 

Translation from Meteo EU:

 

 

A depression called Ionas strengthens in the Ionian Sea. This system which directly threatens Greece for this Friday, September 18 has subtropical characteristics of the "medicane" type. Heavy and very abundant stormy rains, violent gusts and very rough seas threaten the western shores of Greece from Friday morning.The meeting of cool air from northern Europe and warm Mediterranean air above a sea that displays 27 ° C will reinforce a depression whose characteristics are similar to those of a cyclone. A mediterranean hurricane

These similarities in terms of structure and morphology (hot low pressure heart, strong convective activity around one eye, clearly visible on satellite images are at the origin of the term medicane, contraction of mediterranean and hurricane (Mediterranean hurricane).

For Ionas, the surface pressure should reach 990 hPa and the temperature at 850 hPa display between 16 and 18 ° C, close to 0 ° C at 500 hPa at the heart of the system, which is "hot" at this altitude and looks like structures of tropical cyclones.

 

Although the dimensions and violence of the phenomenon are smaller than for a tropical cyclone, the gusts and the accumulations of rain observed there require special attention.

What does he actually expect?

The sectors most affected by this medicine will be the western coasts of Greece where gusts of 150-160 km / h are expected on Friday morning.

Rainfall accumulations will be considerable and may approach 200 to 250 mm in a few hours.

Waves of 6 to 7 meters are expected in the Aegean Sea.

S. DECAUX

https://weather.us/satellite/ionioi-nisoi/satellite-hd-5min/20200917-1145z.html

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SST's in the Mediterranean Sea in that area are about 28C. Certainly warm enough to support a TC. Some of these type of stormed have formed in the winter months, with lower SST's than usually required for Tropical Cyclones.  In many ways like 2005's Hurricane Epsilon, with colder temps along likely allowing for their formation. These storms (like Epsilon) often show eye features at lower wind speeds than seen in deeper warm core systems. 

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Is the Mediterranean not part of the Atlantic basin?

 

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The Mediterranean Sea is part of the Atlantic Ocean but is not assigned an RMSC (Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre) probably due to the scarcity of TCs and STCs there in the satellite era. But they do occur and something formal should probably be done about it. The most logical choice would be MeteoFrance since they already have an RMSC in the Indian Ocean and provisional remote sensing technology in place with the EU to observe, forecast and assist member and bordering coastal nations with advisory products.
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50 minutes ago, mempho said:

Is the Mediterranean not part of the Atlantic basin?

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I'll consider it part of the basin when a storm comes out of there and makes landfall in Florida.  It's connected to the Atlantic, but so it the Pacific.

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I'll consider it part of the basin when a storm comes out of there and makes landfall in Florida.  It's connected to the Atlantic, but so it the Pacific.
Well, we just had a landfall in Portugal, so I think the question is legitimate. Is it part of the Atlantic for naming purposes or is it a separate basin?

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