Air Mass Trajectories regarding Hydro Meteorological Disasters in Greece Registered in the EM-DAT Database (original) (raw)
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IAHS-AISH Publication, No 271, The Extremes of the Extremes; Extraordinary Floods, 161-166. , 2002
The current paper examines two intense flood-producing rainstorms that occurred in October 1994 and July 1995 and which caused severe damages and loss of lives in the Athens greater area.
Remote Sensing
Urban areas often experience high precipitation rates and heights associated with flash flood events. Atmospheric and hydrological models in combination with remote-sensing and surface observations are used to analyze these phenomena. This study aims to conduct a hydrometeorological analysis of a flash flood event that took place in the sub-urban area of Mandra, western Attica, Greece, using remote-sensing observations and the Chemical Hydrological Atmospheric Ocean Wave System (CHAOS) modeling system that includes the Advanced Weather Research Forecasting (WRF-ARW) model and the hydrological model (WRF-Hydro). The flash flood was caused by a severe storm during the morning of 15 November 2017 around Mandra area resulting in extensive damages and 24 fatalities. The X-band dual-polarization (XPOL) weather radar of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) observed precipitation rates reaching 140 mm/h in the core of the storm. CHAOS simulation unveils the persistent orographic converg...
Atmospheric rivers (AR) are intermittent circulation features in mid-latitude regions of the globe that can cause extreme precipitation events and disastrous floods. Recent developments in the research field have shown that ARs, consist of 'rivers' of narrow, filament bands that transport large amounts of moisture with maximum wind speeds of more than 10 m/s, poleward and across subtropical boundaries. Recently, the association between atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation across Europe has been suggested particularly in fall and winter in Western Europe, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe (Lavers and Villarini, 2013). In this paper, we perform an initial investigation on the appearance of atmospheric rivers in Southern Europe and specifically in the geographic region of Greece. We examine whether extreme amounts of precipitation can be attributed to ARs phenomena, correlating historic precipitation measurements from the HNMS monitoring stations and NOAA FNL rea...
Tornadoes and waterspouts in Greece
Atmospheric Research, 2003
Tornadoes and waterspouts occur in various parts of Greece and may often reach the media as remarkable events, depending of their intensity and the level of damage. This paper is based on a research started from the beginning of 2000 for identifying and recording tornadoes and waterspouts in Greece and evaluating their intensity and other fundamental characteristics. Search of historical events for obtaining more comprehensive tornado climatology is in progress. In an almost 3-year period, January 2000-September 2002, tornadoes and waterspouts have been reported from various parts of Greece, including western Greece, the Ionian islands and western Peloponnese mainly during autumn and winter. Northern Greece is affected by tornadic activity mostly during summer and early autumn. The geographical distribution showed a preference for tornado occurrence mainly in coastal areas. Based on this almost 3-year data sample, a mean number of six tornadoes per year has resulted, corresponding to a density of 0.45 10 À 4 km À 2 year À 1. Maximum intensity of tornadoes recorded was rated as T6 of the Tornado and Storm Research Organization (TORRO) scale (F3 of the Fujita scale). A basic synoptic typing scheme is presented, including four synoptic circulation patterns associated to tornado occurrence.
Numerical Investigation of the Role of Topography in Tornado Events in Greece
Springer Atmospheric Sciences, 2012
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Atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme precipitation amounts in Greece
Advances in Geosciences, 2008
The main synoptic conditions associated with extreme precipitation amounts in Greece are examined by using a multivariate statistical methodology comprising S-mode Factor Analysis and k-means Cluster Analysis. The following data were used : i) daily precipitation amounts (measured at 06:00 UTC) for the meteorological stations of Hellenikon (Athens), Thessaloniki (northern Greece) and Ioannina (western Greece) and ii) daily (18:00 UTC) 2.5×2.5 grid point values of 500 hPa geopotential height, mean sealevel pressure and 1000-500 hPa thickness at 273 grid points over Europe (10 W to 40 E and 30 N to 60 N), for the period 1970-2002.
A case study of tornado-producing storm south of Rhodopes mountain in the Eastern Mediterranean
Atmospheric Research, 2001
A brief overview of tornadic events wind spouts over Bulgaria in the period 1904-1989 that have been recorded in the meteorological archive and described in scientific papers is presented. Ž. Ž The local tornado spout on 15 May 1999 in Zhaltusha village south of Rhodopes mountain in. the most southern part of Bulgaria, close to the Mediterranean coast is studied in detail. The case Ž. is associated with hail 'egg-shaped' stones about 5 cm in diameter and caused damages of property valued above US$250 000. The high-wind-speed vortex blew off house roofs, rooted out trees, and turned over trucks. Using numerical model analysis fields and satellite imagery, evidence is presented, which illustrates the role of synoptic scale mechanisms for the generation of the severe storm. On the large scale, the circulation pattern is associated with a trough disruption process over the area of Western Europe, North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Under the influence of southwestern flow in the lower troposphere, warm and moist Mediterranean air is advected in the region of strong westerlies in the higher levels. Together with the role of low-level warmrmoist advection and westerly transport of cold air at the mid-upper levels, diurnal heating, terrain-induced lifting, etc., are also critical for the initiation of deep convection over the region of tornadic event. As a result of these factors, a typical cloud pattern developed that indicates the existence of a local area of negative vertical gradient of the thermal advection in the troposphere, associated with the dramatic destabilisation. Other synoptic-and mesoscale elements may also be revealed or confirmed by satellite and radiosonde data. Ž. The nearest Rhodopes radiosounding at Thessaloniki airport and surface meteorological data from Kurdjaly station are used for air mass analysis in the vicinity of the storm. The obtained Ž result shows very high values of atmospheric instability indices the energy E s 3327 Jrkg K, i
A flood hazard database for Greece Entwicklung einer
2013
In natural hazard research, the impact of flood events and their adverse consequences highlight the increasing importance of studies on flood hazard and risk, not only on a global scale but in particular on a national and sub-national level. However, data on flood losses is neither comprehensive nor standardised in terms of data quality throughout Europe; and the limitations of spatial and temporal information on floods has repeatedly been claimed. The aim of this paper is to close this gap by taking the Republic of Greece as an example. Based on data collection and data mining techniques we established a comprehensive flood inventory for the period 1887-2010 by using information from multiple sources, and analysed the characteristics of flood hazards and losses in Greece. It is shown that there are considerable spatial and temporal dynamics in the events recorded, as well as in the number of fatalities, which could be mainly attributed to (1) the implementation of technical mitigat...
Meteorological Conditions Associated with Strong Tornadoes in Greece
Tornadoes are associated with deep convection and severe thunderstorm activity, representing extremely dangerous phenomena. Strong tornadoes, considered those of an intensity of F2 (Fujita scale) or T4 (TORRO scale) or greater, although rarely occur in Greece, however can pose a significant hazard to the community, including property, infrastructure, agricultural damage, injuries even and fatalities. In this study, an analysis is performed of meteorological conditions associated with strong tornado occurrences during the last decade, a period with systematic tornado recording in Greece. Selected cases include a sample of strongest and most damaged tornado cases as have been evaluated in the 12-year Greek tornado database (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). Synoptic and mesoscale features favourable for the development of such severe incidents, including upper-air patterns, thermo dynamic, wind parameters and convective instability indices, are examined. Thus, a contribution is offered to increase the ability to identify and anticipate such extreme weather events, critical to the mission of operational meteorologists.