Storm Daniel Unleashes Severe Weather Impacts Across Eastern Mediterranean

Posted: September 8, 2023 9:00 am

At least seven deaths have been confirmed in the Mediterranean as Storm Daniel continues to ravage Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria with intense rainfall. Here is a look at what is happening in this corner of the world.

Storm Daniel Roaring Across Eastern Mediterranean

Forecasters are predicting that Storm Daniel could become a medicane, a term used to describe a rare tropical event that spins up in the Mediterranean. Rainfall has measured almost two feet in the hardest-hit areas, triggering mass amounts of flooding. Unfortunately, Daniel is not done wreaking havoc with more rain on the way for the southeastern corner of the region.

Authorities have confirmed three fatalities in Greece, two in Turkey, and three more in Bulgaria as a result of the storm. As of early Thursday, Daniel was churning in the waters west of Greece. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service of Greece issued red warnings to bring awareness to the likelihood of more flooding rainfall. The Greek weather agency uses a three-tier warning system with red signifying the most immediate threat of danger.

Omega Block Will Keep Torrential Rain Over Greece

Unfortunately, it may get worse before it gets better for Greece. An Omega block is keeping the storm hovering over the country. This pattern in the jet stream resembles the Omega Greek letter, preventing the typical weather maker patterns of west to east. Instead, an Omega block generally keeps cooler and more unsettled weather patterns locked in over a specific area.

Heavy rain and flooding has not been the only severe impact unleashed by Daniel. The European Severe Weather Database confirmed a waterspout moving off the coast of Mantoúdi in east-central Greece on Monday. A funnel cloud was also seen in an area near the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of southern Italy. The southern coasts of the region will continue to be under the threat of waterspouts and funnels in the coming days.

Local officials are growing frustrated with residents not heeding the warnings about the threat of flash flooding. Law enforcement agencies in east-central Greece instituted traffic bans for parts of Pelion, Volos, and the island of Skiathos because of the heavy rainfall.

The Greek village of Portaria recorded 23.65 inches of rain on Tuesday. In addition, the ZEUS Long-Range Lightning Detection System recorded over 30,000 lightning strikes as storms rattled the country on Tuesday.

Rarity of a Medicane

The term medicane is a combination of the words “Mediterranean” and “hurricane.” While this is not an officially recognized term in weather circles, it is an easy way to indicate the differences of tropical storms based by region. The prevalence of medicanes have increased in recent years. However, most remain at or below the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane as defined by the widely recognized Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale for Hurricanes.

The fall and early winter months have been the most likely times for these storms to develop in the Mediterranean Sea. This is because this is the time of the year when the sea surface temperatures are the warmest. The water temperatures in the southern Mediterranean Sea are now coming in between 80 and 86 degrees, well over the range needed to support tropical weather development.

Other Countries Seeing Impacts of Storm Daniel

Greece is not the only country currently experiencing the impacts of Storm Daniel. Bulgaria, southern portions of Albania, and North Macedonia have also seen widespread flooding and mudslides this week as a result of the massive weather maker.

Daniel’s outer bands are also hitting the southern portions of Italy. For instance, the mountainous terrain of Sila National Park recorded over an inch of rain this week. This part of the Mediterranean is forecast to see even more rain later this week as Daniel moves to the south.

Storm Dana Impacts Iberian Peninsula

Note that Storm Daniel is not the same storm system that unleashed flooding across portions of Portugal and Spain a few days ago. This cyclone over the western portions of the Mediterranean was named Storm Dana by the Spanish Meteorological Agency last weekend.

Storm Dana ushered in several flooding instances as well as strong winds, hail, and tornadoes. The most shocking story coming out of this storm was a 10-year-old who clung to a tree overnight after being swept away by the floodwaters near Madrid, Spain. Fortunately, the story had a happy ending and the boy was rescued.

The storm is just another in a line of severe weather events that have impacted Spain this summer. The country has also been dealing with massive wildfires and long-term heatwaves.

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