Sardinia hit by deadly cyclone and flooding

[knocker]

At least nine people have been killed as storms and floods caused by Cyclone Cleopatra tore through the Italian island of Sardinia, officials say.

 

A number of people are believed to be missing after rivers burst their banks, sweeping cars away and causing bridges to collapse.

The worst-hit area appears to be in and around the north-eastern city of Olbia.

 

Hundreds of people across the Mediterranean island were evacuated from their homes.

"We're at maximum alert," Giorgio Cicalo, an official from Sardinia's civil protection authority, told Italy's Rai TV.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24996292

[Coast]

 

Sardinia on 'maximum alert' after deadly storms

 

Reports of nine dead after torrential rain sweeps cars away and causes bridge to collapse on Italian island

 

 

Nine people died and hundreds were evacuated when storms tore through the Italian island of Sardiniaon Monday evening, sweeping cars away and causing a bridge to collapse, local media have reported. Television pictures showed torrential rain, with streets submerged in muddy floodwaters and rivers bursting their banks.

 

"We're at maximum alert," Giorgio Cicalo, an official from the Civil Protection Authority in Sardinia, told Rai state television. "We haven't seen a situation as extreme as this perhaps for decades. Especially because it's been across the whole island."

 

Local newspapers Unione Sarda and Nuova Sardegna reported in their online editions that nine people had been killed with the storm still raging, but it was not immediately possible to confirm the figure with local officials. "I can't confirm the figures but there have certainly been dead and there are missing," Gianni Giovannelli, the mayor of Olbia, a town in the island's northeast – which was among the worst-affected areas – told Rai 3 television.

 

According to local media reports, one police officer was killed and three of his colleagues were injured when a bridge collapsed. In another incident, a woman and her daughter drowned when their car was tipped over by the flood. There was heavy rain across northern Italy as well as in the south with high winds and flooding in coastal areas, the Civil Protection Authority said.

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/sardinia-deadly-storms

 

 

http://youtu.be/J8jaE8ffin8

[Steve C]

Does this mean it was hit by a MCS, or a powerful mid latitude depression?

 

I saw the news this morning and wondered what they meant by 'cyclone'

 

Anyway, commiserations to people affected by this.

[Coast]

Does this mean it was hit by a MCS, or a powerful mid latitude depression?  I saw the news this morning and wondered what they meant by 'cyclone'

 

 

No real meteorological word yet Steve, many seemed to have died in flash floods:

 

 

The death toll from torrential flash floods that whipped the Italian island of Sardinia has increased to 14, the island's governor said. Hundreds were forced to evacuate after the floods hit, with bridges felled by gushing, muddy rivers and water levels reaching three metres high in some places. Olbia Mayor Gianni Giovanelli told news agency Sky TG24 early on Tuesday that the city had been destroyed by the "apocalyptic'' storm.

 

Sardinia Governor Ugo Cappellacci said the toll had reached 14, with a family of four, reportedly of Brazilian origin, the latest victims found. "We're at maximum alert," Giorgio Cicalo, an official from the Civil Protection Authority in Sardinia told RAI state television. "We haven't seen a situation as extreme as this, perhaps for decades. Especially because it's been across the whole island."

 

The local newspaper L'Unione Sarda said the dead included one policeman who was helping escort an ambulance when the car he was travelling in was involved in the collapse of a bridge in Dorgali. The city of Gallura was hardest hit with six dead, the newspaper reported, including three people whose car was swept away in the collapse of another bridge. In another incident, a woman and her daughter were drowned when their car was tipped on its side by the flood.

 

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/11/deadly-rainstorm-floods-sardinia-island-2013111905153374535.html

 

This was posted in the convective thread earlier:

 

 

http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/78239-convective-storm-discussion-22nd-october-onwards-2013/?p=2838956

 

A bow echo???

Edited November 19, 2013 by Coast

[matty40s]

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/sardinia-deadly-storms

 

 

http://youtu.be/J8jaE8ffin8

 

well if that's Sardinia , I'm a Martian.

No leaves on trees, cars driving on left hand side of road and the Graham Hick pavilion.......

[Coast]

No leaves on trees, cars driving on left hand side of road and the Graham Hick pavilion.......

 

Very odd, must be stock footage they got wrong. This one is very much (unfortunately) Sardinia over the last 24 hours:

 

[Andy Bown]

According to the earlier BBC news bulletin there were 18 inches of rain in an hour and a half - that makes my mind boggle!

[Steve C]

According to the earlier BBC news bulletin there were 18 inches of rain in an hour and a half - that makes my mind boggle!

Crikey! No wonder things have been so bad. An inch of rain every five minutes! Has an inch of rain ever been recorded in the UK in five minutes? I have major doubts. Edited November 19, 2013 by Steve C

[JK1]

No real meteorological word yet Steve, many seemed to have died in flash floods:

 

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/11/deadly-rainstorm-floods-sardinia-island-2013111905153374535.html

 

This was posted in the convective thread earlier:

 

 

http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/78239-convective-storm-discussion-22nd-october-onwards-2013/?p=2838956

 

A bow echo???

maybe a Derecho

[Crepuscular Ray]

Isn't it just an old frontal depression, closed isobars, etc?

 

The MetO charts show an LP with an extensive occlusion, with none of the characteristics of a cyclone/hurricane, i.e. no eye, and the central pressure's nowhere near low enough.

 

I suspect that the Italians use the word "ciclone" for the opposite of an "anticiclone", and it's lost something in translation.

[ANYWEATHER]

And there not out of the woods yet. The low pressure which will be affecting us tomorrow will be moving southeast and giving them further flooding problems by Friday. Looks like some parts of the Alps will be blasted by heavy snow too, perhaps with the consequence of Avalanche conditions.....

[The PIT]

Yes I thought the media has got it screwed up. This will be used later as proof of global warming. Heck of a lot of rain though.

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Mediterranean is a breeding ground for some serious and even life threatening storms at this time of year. Sea is very warm, and with such steep contrasts of cold air surging down and warm air coming North being fuelled by the warm seas, this is often the result. September to December are the best months to go to the Med if you are in search of some spectacular storms.

However, my heart goes to those who have been caught in this storm's path. RIP.

[batkat]

Does anyone here know if there's a link to track the cyclone ? Because I've herd and read that it already is in western greece but much weaker than when it hit sardinia. Is the cyclone still going? We will have some huge storms in greece from thursday untill saturday or so and I was wandering if this is because of the cyclone or just a local storm.

[Su Campu]

Cyclone Cleopatra, as it was named, was porobably a hybrid tropical-like cyclone that developed a warm core, according to this analysis.

http://www.meteogiornale.it/notizia/30115-1-alluvione-in-sardegna-ciclone-evoluto-in-tlc-alcuni-indizi

A station in Villasor recorded a max rain-rate of 208 m/h. Several official stations in the east (Dorgali Filitta, Oliena and Villanova Strisaili) recorded totals near 400 m in a few hours Monday evening.

http://www.sar.sardegna.it/servizi/dati/datistazioni7gg.asp?stazione=Dorgali%20Filitta

[Crepuscular Ray]

Cyclone Cleopatra, as it was named, was porobably a hybrid tropical-like cyclone that developed a warm core, according to this analysis.http://www.meteogiornale.it/notizia/30115-1-alluvione-in-sardegna-ciclone-evoluto-in-tlc-alcuni-indiziA station in Villasor recorded a max rain-rate of 208 m/h. Several official stations in the east (Dorgali Filitta, Oliena and Villanova Strisaili) recorded totals near 400 m in a few hours Monday evening.http://www.sar.sardegna.it/servizi/dati/datistazioni7gg.asp?stazione=Dorgali%20Filitta

Really? So why did pressure charts show it as a frontal depression rather than a tropical-like cyclone? The core pressure was nowhere near low enough be a cyclone, there was no eye wall or eye wall... Yes, the water in the Med's still very warm, but enough to create a cyclone?

 

I assume you mean 208 mm an hour rather than 208 m an hour. That would be really scary.

[Su Campu]

Yes, mm, not m.

The NAE also shows it developing a warm core before becoming frontal as it moved eastwards.

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=en&CONT=itit&MODELL=nae&MODELLTYP=1&VAR=pstp&WMO=&ZOOM=0&RES=0&PERIOD=&PANEL=0&ARCHIV=0&BASE=201311190600%26HH%3D0

And what is the threshold minimum pressure before a low can be called a "cyclone"? Any closed cyclonic circulation is called a cyclone, it's just that the type needs to be specified (tropical, extra-tropical, etc.).

http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Cyclone

Edited November 21, 2013 by Su Campu