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Medicane “Zorbas”

By Scott Bachmeier •

NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) images [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Medicane “Zorbas” — as named by Freie Universität Berlin (surface analyses) — developed in the Mediterranean Sea late in the day on 27 September 2018. A toggle between VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP (above; courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) revealed the well-defined circulation of the storm a few hours after Midnight local time on 28 September. Note the bright streak north of the storm center on the NOAA-20 image — this was an area of clouds illuminated by intense lightning activity. Other less prominent lightning streaks were evident in thunderstorms farther to the east over the Mediterranean Sea. On the Suomi NPP image, a small bright spot could be seen, evidence of minor volcanic activity at Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, as well as the hazy signature of a plume of blowing dust/sand that was moving northward off the coast of Libya. The corresponding VIIRS Infrared images are available here.

During the following daylight hours of 28 September, EUMETSAT Meteosat-11 High Resolution Visible (0.8 µm) images (below) showed the storm as it became better organized and increased intensity. Another dense plume of blowing dust/sand began to move off the coast of Libya late in the day.

Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of wind barbs (yellow) and wind gusts (red) [click to play animation | MP4]

Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of wind barbs (yellow) and wind gusts (red) [click to play animation | MP4]

On 29 September, Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images (below) showed the Medicane moving inland along the Peloponnese coast of southern Greece — shortly after the storm center passed, winds gusted to 48 knots at Kalamata at 1220 UTC (while a heavy thunderstorm was being reported).

Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of winds (yellow) and gusts in knots (red) [click to play animation | MP4]

Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of wind barbs (yellow) and gusts in knots (red) [click to play animation | MP4]

A sequence of Terra and Aqua MODIS True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images from 28 and 29 September from RealEarth (below) showed another view of the Zorbas on those 2 days (the valid time of the Terra MODIS image showing the eye-like feature on 29 September was 0911 UTC). Sea Surface Temperatures were near 25ºC in the central Mediterranean Sea where Zorbas was intensifying.

Terra/Aqua MODIS True Color RGB images on 28 and 29 September [click to enlarge]

Terra/Aqua MODIS True Color RGB images on 28 and 29 September [click to enlarge]

Hourly images of the MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below) showed moisture associated with the storm, which produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding in parts of southern Greece — the NESDIS Blended TPW Anomaly product indicated that this moisture was as much as 200% of normal for the region and date. Additional information and videos can be found here.

MIMIC morphed Total Precipitable Water images, 27-29 September [click to play animation | MP4]

MIMIC morphed Total Precipitable Water images, 27-29 September [click to play animation | MP4]

Categories: Aqua, Heavy rain / flooding, Meteosat, Microwave, MODIS, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, Terra, VIIRS