AIR Currents
"Medicanes" Occur Once or Twice per Year on Average
November 17, 2016
A “medicane” is the unofficial name given to a low pressure system that typically forms in the western Mediterranean or the Ionian Sea and briefly exhibits characteristics of a tropical storm, such as symmetry and a warm core. Medicanes are most common in winter, although they become more likely starting in the autumn then taper off in the spring. Although many go unrecognized, one was picked up by NASA using satellite imagery on October 30, the day before it traveled across the island of Crete, bringing more than 3 inches of rain and wind gusts of 60 mph, which were recorded at Souda Air Base.
