Cyclone Apollo, also known as Medicane Nearchus,
was a powerful
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, often referred to as Mediterranean cyclones or Mediterranean hurricanes, and shortened as medicanes, are meteorological phenomena occasionally observed over the Mediterranean Sea. On a few rare occasions, so ...
that affected many countries on the Mediterranean coast, especially
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, in 2021. The storm killed 7 people total, due to flooding from the cyclone,
in the countries of
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, and Italy, where the worst of the effects have been felt, especially on the island of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
Damage estimates by the
Aon Benfield were set at more than $245 million.
Meteorological history
Around 22 October 2021, an area of organized thunderstorms formed near the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
, with the disturbance becoming more organized and developing an
area of low pressure
In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...
around 24 October. On the next day, the low started to develop a low-level circulation center, and moved into the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy.
Geography
The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
. On 28 October, the system organized even further and intensified, which prompted forecast offices in Europe to name the low. Italy's "
Servizio Meteorologico
The Italian Meteorological Service () is an organizational unit of the Italian Air Force and the national meteorological service in Italy. The weather forecasts and other services serve both the armed forces and the general public.
Organization
...
" named the storm ''Apollo'' (which was then adopted by the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
),
while Greece named the storm ''Nearchus''.
On 29 October 2021, a ship in the Mediterranean Sea passed through Apollo and measured a peak wind speed of and a pressure of , indicating that Apollo was still strengthening.
After Apollo made its closest approach to Sicily during the overnight hours of 29 October, Apollo appeared to have begun to weaken as its convection waned and its low-level circulation became exposed on visible satellite imagery on 30 October 2021. On 31 October 2021, Apollo made landfall near
Bayda and stayed inland until emerging over the Mediterranean a few hours later. On 2 November 2021, Apollo dissipated inland over
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Preparations and impact
Heavy rain from the cyclone and its precursor caused heavy rainfall and flooding in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, Southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, killing 7 people total.
The flooding was especially severe in the provinces of
Catania
Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
and
Siracusa, in Eastern
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
Aftermath and naming
Some names for the cyclone include the most commonly used one, ''Apollo'', which was used by Italy, which used it from its naming list for the
2021-22 windstorm season,
and was also used by the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
.
The agency Meteo Greece named the system ''Nearchus'',
after the voyager of the same name.
See also
*
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, often referred to as Mediterranean cyclones or Mediterranean hurricanes, and shortened as medicanes, are meteorological phenomena occasionally observed over the Mediterranean Sea. On a few rare occasions, so ...
*
Tropical cyclones in 2021
During 2021, tropical cyclones formed in seven major bodies of water, commonly known as tropical cyclone basins. Tropical cyclones will be assigned names by various weather agencies if they attain maximum sustained winds of . During the year, 136 ...
*
Tropical cyclones and climate change
Climate change affects tropical cyclones in a variety of ways: an intensification of rainfall and wind speed, an increase in the frequency of very intense storms and a poleward extension of where the cyclones reach maximum Intensity mapping, int ...
*
Cyclone Ianos – A powerful Medicane which effected similar areas a year prior
*
Cyclone Zorbas – Another powerful medicane which also developed in the same region in 2018
References
External links
{{Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones
2021 meteorology
2021 in Italy
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones
October 2021 in Europe
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
2021 disasters in Europe