Tropical Storm Hits Malta

[Nicola]

Been a lively couple of days in Malta with Tropical Storm 'Trixie' brushing to the North-East. Little damage inland but large waves has caused some issues along the seafront.

With warmer seas (climate change) temperatures in the Med are close to those in the tropical Atlantic and we may one day see a big storm impact Southern Europe or North Africa.

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[goatwack]

Bollocks....this is what I get when I build a Tropical Storm Machine. I was aiming for Curacao

 

[vinylweatherman]

That's pretty interesting, and a bit scary too. The Med isn't normally somewhere that can support the formation of a tropical storm, at least not one that appears to have a well defined eye as in the picture. However, if the Med is warming to such an extent that this becomes possible, it could become just as dangerous as the Gulf of Mexico, where full blown hurricanes can be supported.

 

[dunover]

It's not a tropical storm as they originate in the tropics. Not the Med. A small cyclone. It's not that big, I've done bigger farts than that.

 

[vinylweatherman]

It's not a tropical storm as they originate in the tropics. Not the Med. A small cyclone. It's not that big, I've done bigger farts than that.

It would be a matter of it reaching certain criteria, rather than it's location. It would need to be a "warm core" cyclone, one formed and energised by high sea surface temperatures, as opposed to a regular temperate depression that forms from sharp temperature contrasts between air masses, and would be a "cold core" system.

You can even get "tropical storms" reaching as far as New York.

The limiting factor for the Med would be that the storm doesn't have to move very far before encountering land, which would rapidly weaken a "warm core" system being driven by high sea surface temperatures. If the Med is managing 28C, is just about hot enough to allow for the formation of such storm systems from clumps of thunderstorms.

I can't see any sign of it now on the charts, so it must have been marginal.

I'll have to look it up and see what the official view is.

 

[vinylweatherman]

It's open to debate.

They are referred to as "medicanes", and "tropical like" storms in that they have the warm core structure. However, it seems that high sea temperatures are not the most important factor in their development, but it's high air temperatures coupled with a number of unusual conditions in the region that can set them off.

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Naturally, if the weather gets hotter in the Med, storms of all types, including this rare type, will end up being stronger, and producing more rainfall and thus more flooding events.

 

[dunover]

It's open to debate.

They are referred to as "medicanes", and "tropical like" storms in that they have the warm core structure. However, it seems that high sea temperatures are not the most important factor in their development, but it's high air temperatures coupled with a number of unusual conditions in the region that can set them off.

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Naturally, if the weather gets hotter in the Med, storms of all types, including this rare type, will end up being stronger, and producing more rainfall and thus more flooding events.

I think Farage sent it over there to stop the bogus asylum-seekers and economic migrants sailing to Europe....