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What are medicanes? The ‘supercharged’ Mediterranean storms that could become more frequent

Source(s): Guardian, the (UK)
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The term is an amalgamation of the words Mediterranean and hurricane. Used by scientists and weather forecasters, it is less well known to the wider public.

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Medicanes tend to form in the autumn when the sea is warm, usually in the western Mediterranean and the region between the Ionian Sea and the north African coast, explained Suzanne Gray, a professor at the University of Reading’s meteorology department.

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A medicane packing winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, dubbed Ianos, lashed Greece in September 2020, killing three people in the city of Karditsa and triggering floods, landslides and power cuts.

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In general, experts say the warming of sea surface temperatures, driven by human-induced climate change, is going to make extreme storms more intense.

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Hazards Cyclone, Hurricane and Typhoon
Themes Climate change
Country and region Europe Africa

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