Is the storm destroying Bulgaria and Greece, moving toward Italy? Update from Meteo.

The article dated 6/09/2023, 11:45 p.m., Mattia Gussoni, meteorologist.

The Medicaid threat to Sicily.

Weather warning: dangerous MEDICAIN wreaks havoc in Greece and Bulgaria with heavy rain, flooding and strong hurricane-force wind gusts. It is now feared that the cyclone's trajectory could hit some Italian regions in the coming hours.

Strength rains, thunderstorms and very strong winds are hitting Greece and especially Volos, the capital of the department of Magnesia (Central Greece), where government spokesman Yannis Artopios said on Ert airwaves that one person has been found dead. According to the first information, the victim was swept away by the flood, while a shepherd from the village of Agios Georgios in the same region went missing. The Department of Magnesia and the neighboring islands of Sporades are on red alert. Rainfall reached 800 mm in 24 hours in Volos (video below) and 700 mm in Zagora, at the foot of Mount Pilion, according to the National Meteorological Service (EMY).

In detail, this weather anomaly was caused by a cyclone with tropical characteristics, which is called Medican (from the combination of the words MEDIterranean hurricane, i.e. Mediterranean hurricane). The formation of these atmospheric hazards usually requires very warm seawater temperatures: 26°C is the official threshold for tropical cyclone development.

Mediterranean cyclone Medicaid is forming.

The satellite image captures the scale of this huge atmospheric structure. The main characteristic of such phenomena is a "warm core" (in the technical sense), which is present especially in the lower layers (850 hPa, about 1450 m), with temperatures more than +2°C +3°C (if not higher) compared to the ambient. Medicaid systems can retain tremendous power along their path, often manifested by intense convective activity in the center, where particularly strong thunderstorm systems can lurk, and by very strong and violent winds with gusts in excess of 120 km/h, often in the form of storms.

Development and Risks for ItalyG/h3>

The area of Medikane formation is still uncertain according to atmospheric models, but for the moment it seems likely to hit the Ionian coasts of Italy, especially Calabria and Sicily. Storm surges and heavy rains are expected in these areas. All in all, it's a situation worth watching and monitoring closely.