MED: ZORBAS - Hurricane over the Mediterranean Sea

[ozonepete]

Thanks for the great gif! Yeah I'm still thinking it made 65 knots somewhere offshore just before landfall with such a strong, symmetric core.

Yes, this is not impossible, but we will never know. We need Recon.
Also, I will look through the amateur meteorological stations too in the next days.

Ok, thanks for bringing this to our attention and the great coverage. Please keep us in the loop if you find anything.

[Visioen]

 https://twitter.com/severeweatherEU/status/1046095255534272512



 https://twitter.com/severeweatherEU/status/1046071587164901377

[Visioen]

Does anyone know who named the storm "Zorba/Zorbas"?

Media here are saying "meteorologists named the storm Zorba(s), referring to the stormy rhythm of the music from the movie 'Zorba the Greek'. A website mentioned "agencies" instead of "meteorologists". Not sure who or what they mean by that.

[Aric Dunn]

That sure looks like a shallow convective hurricane to me..

The convection wasn't shallow, the cyclone produced cloud tops around -55, -60 °C permanently before and at the landfall. But the available data didn't support hurricane intensity. As I have mentioned earlier, an ASCAT pass near 09 UTC showed 50 kt wind, and the highest measured 10-min sustained wind in Greece was 80 km/h (43 kt) in Pylos (west coast of the Peloppenese, SW from Kalamata). However, that station reported hurricane-force 121 km/h gust.I think the peak intensity was at most 60 kt with 987 hPa cenrtral pressure.

http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/pylos/

Hurricanehink: I think the names came from the media, as Trixie in 2016.

Today's animation (beside the nice structure it had well-defined upper level outflow too):

http://gallery.site.hu/d/28661424-1/Med_20180929.gif

Very likely sustained hurricane force. Ascat is sorely over used. Also shallow convection typical of cold core transition to warm core. Shallow in terms of not deep tropical convection.

[mlfreeman]

It made CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/29/europe/medicane-zorba-greece-turkey-intl/index.html

[DanieleItalyRm]

I Think name Zorbas from Berlin universiy. Metereological greek center name The storm Xenophont

[DanieleItalyRm]

There is someone who continues to assert that storm Zorbas is extratropical, and that claim in this forum that it was not tropical, but that it was a subtropical cyclone.
It does not seem to me that this is true.
All agree that it is a tropical cyclone. As I think too.
He claims that it could not be tropical because in this map the centers do not coincide. I have explained to him that a cyclone with central convection around a well-defined center already shows that the cyclone is symmetrical, with a warm and barotropic heart. I expect your answer. Thanks you all.

[Vince_and_Grace_fan]

There is someone who continues to assert that zorbas is extratropical, and that claim in this forum that it was not tropical, but that it was a subtropical cyclone.
It does not seem to me that this is true.
I read that you almost all agree that it is a tropical cyclone. As I think too.
He claims that it could not be tropical because in this map the centers do not coincide. I have explained to him that a cyclone with central convection around a well-defined center already shows that the cyclone is symmetrical, with a warm and barotropic heart. I expect your answer. Thanks you all.

The isobaric field was disturbed by the terrain, that is the reason why it wasn't symmetric. Same occure when a tropical cyclone make ladnfall in a mountainous area like Great Antilles, Mexico or Hawaii (Hi-Res model maps usually show it very well).
Also reply for your preavious comment, the name 'Zorba/Zorbas' didn' come from FU-Berlin. It would have been 'Inge' if they would have named the cyclone (it developed on 27 September), but they didn't.
http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/wetterpate/tief2018/

[KWT]

I'm reminded of this famous line from hurricane Vince 2nd discussion...

IF IT LOOKS LIKE A HURRICANE... IT PROBABLY IS... DESPITE ITS
ENVIRONMENT AND UNUSUAL LOCATION

I think that pretty neatly sums up this system as well!

[Vince_and_Grace_fan]

The top 20 total precipitation data (in mm) what I found:



I also searched some wind data from SW Greece but I didn't find any higher than earlier (most of the stations even the maximum sustained wind was below tropical storm strength).

[DanieleItalyRm]

I also searched some wind data from SW Greece but I didn't find any higher than earlier (most of the stations even the maximum sustained wind was below tropical storm strength).

recorded by a private weather station
Pylos 120 km/h
Voutsaras 105 km/h

Video close the storm:
Pylos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRNsdYM_jys
Methoni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hco9DNoc1vY

as in every small tropical cyclone, the maximum twenty field (<50 / 55kt) had to be in a relatively small portion, about 60 km in dimension.
This sector in the open sea, west of the eye, shows peak sustained winds of up to at least 50-55 kt ( = 93 - 102 km/h), gusts certainly >120 km/h were,
recorded in 8:51 UTC overpass (just before landfall) ASCAT satellite.

[Vince_and_Grace_fan]

recorded by a private weather station
Pylos 120 km/h
Voutsaras 105 km/h

Yes, I saw these wind gusts earlier. Based on the all available data and the slight warming of convection before the landfall (when the eye started to form), I put the peak intensity to 60 kt (110 km/h).

[Vince_and_Grace_fan]

The track map is also completed.