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The accurate prediction of Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, or medicanes, is an important challenge for numerical weather prediction models due to their significant adverse impact on the environment, life, and property. The aim of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of an intense medicane, which formed south of Sicily on 7 November 2014, to the microphysical, cumulus, and boundary/surface layer schemes. The non-hydrostatic Weather Research and Forecasting model (version 3.7.1) is employed. A symmetric cyclone with a deep warm core, corresponding to a medicane, develops in all of the experiments, except for the one with the Thompson microphysics. There is a significant sensitivity of different aspects of the simulated medicane to the physical parameterizations. Its intensity is mainly influenced by the boundary/surface layer scheme, while its track is mainly influenced by the representation of cumulus convection, and its duration is mainly influenced by microphysical parameterization. The modification of the drag coefficient and the roughness lengths of heat and moisture seems to improve its intensity, track, and duration. The parameterization of shallow convection, with explicitly resolved deep convection, results in a weaker medicane with a shorter lifetime. An optimum combination of physical parameterizations in order to simulate all of the characteristics of the medicane does not seem to exist.

Numerical simulations of a tropical-like cyclone in southern Italy have been performed with two different modelling systems (BOLAM-MOLOCH and WRF) with the aim of discussing the role of the surface fluxes in the development of the vortex and evaluating their intensity during the mature stage of the cyclone. Although significant differences emerge in their intensity, both the modelling systems agree in showing that the surface fluxes are more important than the latent heat release associated with convection in the initial phase of the vortex lifecycle, while they are less relevant (although more intense) when the minimum assumes the characteristic of a tropical cyclone.

This work addresses the interactions of aerosols, clouds and dynamics in case of a so-called Medicane. This type of cyclone occurs over the Mediterranean Sea, showing similarities to Hurricanes over the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Due to the high wind speed of the Medicane, a large amount of sea salt particles is emitted over the sea. This can influence the development of the Medicane, its associated clouds, and precipitation.

„Medicane“ prema Mediterranean hurricane ili mediteranski uragan označava ciklonu na Sredozemlju koja je svojom oblačnom strukturom poprimila oblik uragana. Nad južnim Jadranom 16. i 17. travnja 2012. godine razvila se ciklona koja je svojom oblačnom strukturom izgledala kao „Medicane“. Da bi se moglo utvrditi je li ciklona poprimila sve karakteristike „Medicanea“ napravljena je analiza osnovnih meteoroloških parametara. To je ujedno prva sinoptička analiza „Medicanea“ u Hrvatskoj. S obzirom na varijacije u kriterijima, radi lakšeg utvrđivanja može li se ciklonu nad južnim Jadranom okarakterizirati kao „Medicane“, rađena je usporedba s dobro dokumentiranim „Medicaneom“ koji se nad južnom Italijom razvio 26. rujna 2006. godine. Osim usporedbe vrijednosti meteoroloških parametera ciklone nad južnim Jadranom s „Medicaneom“, meteorološki parametri uspoređeni su i s osnovnim kriterijima prema kojima se određena ciklona može okarakterizirati kao „Medicane“. U svrhu što kvalitetnije analize korišteni su i uspoređivani izlazi modela ALADIN i ECMWF te podaci dobiveni na automatskim postajama DHMZ-a. Na različitim nivoima analizirana su polja tlaka zraka, temperature i vjetra te vlažnost zraka. Analizirana je površinska temperatura mora i oborina. Napravljena je usporedba parametara ciklone koja se nad Jadranom razvila 16. i 17. travnja 2012. godine s osnovnim karakteristikama „Medicanea“ i s „Medicaneom“ koji se nad južnom Italijom razvio 26. rujna 2006. godine. Iz usporedbe vidljivo je da ciklona nad Jadranom zadovoljava osnovne kriterije prema kojima se određenu ciklonu može okarakterizirati kao „Medicane“.

The extratropical transition is the transformation of a tropical cyclone into an extratropical cyclone during its migration towards the midlatitudes. During its interaction with its new baroclinic environment, the cyclone can reintensify through complex dynamical and diabatic processes. It can also have a impact downstream from the strenghtening of a Rossby wave train, which quickly propagates and of which the breaking is often the trigger of extreme weather events. The complexity of dynamical and diabatic processes lead then to a reduction of the downstream predictability. Hurricanes Florence and Helene over the North Atlantic contributed that way to the triggering of extreme weather events in September 2006 in the Mediterranean, respectively, an intense precipitation event and a rarer phenomenon, a Medicane (Mediterranean hurricane). Helene was distinguished from Florence by its predominant diabatic processes during the reintensification over a warmer ocean, from which it maintained tropical characteristics. Helene was an exceptional case from its three reintensifications in three days, induced by the elongation of three filaments of potential vorticity, in addition to the development of the Medicane downstream. Both extreme weather events in the Mediterranean were missed from the midrange deterministic forecast. As diabatic processes control the impact of the hurricanes on the Rossby wave trains, the uncertainty in their description was investigated. For the first time, numerical simulations were performed with the Meso-NH model over a large domain with an explicit resolution of deep convection, taking advantage of the massive parallel computing capabilities of the model. A weak sensitivity to the horizontal resolution of the model was found in the precipitation of the hurricanes, thus in their impact on the Rossby wave trains and in the extreme weather events in the Mediterranean. The track of Helene showed instead a high sensitivity to its phasing with the Rossby wave train, that was influenced by the horizontal resolution of the model. This high sensitivity was found again in the ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, where the developement of the Medicane required the phasing of Helene with the Rossby wave train. Targeted perturbation of initial conditions around Helene and the upstream trough were sufficient to predict the Medicane at 108-h lead time in a Meso-NH simulation. The results show the possible impact of extratropical transitions over the North Atlantic, which take place during the same season as most high precipitation episodes in the Mediterranean. A reduction in the uncertainty of the forecast of an extratropical transition is therefore one of the issues for an improvement of the forecast of extreme weather events in the Autumn season, over the Mediterranean region.; La transition extra-tropicale est la transformation d'un cyclone tropical en cyclone extra-tropical lors de sa migration vers les latitudes moyennes. Au cours de son interaction avec son nouvel environnement barocline, le cyclone peut se réintensifier par des processus dynamiques et diabatiques complexes. Il peut également avoir un impact en aval par le renforcement d'un train d'ondes de Rossby, qui se propage rapidement et dont le déferlement est souvent à l'origine d'événements extrêmes. La complexité des processus dynamiques et diabatiques de la transition extra-tropicale conduit alors à une réduction de la prévisibilité en aval. Les ouragans Florence et Hélène en Atlantique Nord ont ainsi contribué au déclenchement des événements extrêmes de septembre 2006 en Méditerranée, respectivement un épisode de précipitations intenses et un phénomène plus rare, un méditerragan (ouragan méditerranéen). Hélène s'est distinguée de Florence par des processus diabatiques prépondérants au cours de sa réintensification sur un océan plus chaud, ce qui lui a permis de conserver des caractéristiques tropicales. Ses trois réintensifications en trois jours induites par l'étirement de trois filaments de tourbillon potentiel, ajoutées au développement du méditerragan en aval, font d'Hélène un cas exceptionnel. Les deux événements extrêmes en Méditerranée étaient absents de la prévision déterministe à moyen terme. L'incertitude dans la représentation des processus diabatiques a été examinée car ceux-ci contrôlent l'impact des ouragans sur les ondes de Rossby. Pour la première fois, des simulations ont été réalisées avec le modèle Méso-NH sur un grand domaine avec une résolution explicite de la convection profonde, tirant parti de la parallélisation massive du modèle. Une faible sensibilité à la résolution horizontale du modèle a été trouvée dans les précipitations des ouragans, donc dans leur impact sur les ondes de Rossby et sur les événements extrêmes en Méditerranée. La trajectoire d'Hélène a par contre montré une forte sensibilité à sa synchronisation avec le train d'ondes de Rossby, influencée par la résolution horizontale du modèle. Cette forte sensibilité a été retrouvée dans les prévisions d'ensemble du Centre Européen pour la Prévision Météorologique à Moyen Terme, où le développement du méditerragan a requis la synchronisation d'Hélène avec le train d'ondes de Rossby. La perturbation ciblée des conditions initiales autour d'Hélène et du thalweg en amont a suffi à prévoir le méditerragan à une échéance de 108 h dans une simulation Méso-NH. Ces résultats montrent l'impact possible de transitions extra-tropicales en Atlantique Nord, qui surviennent à la même saison que la plupart des épisodes de précipitations intenses en Méditerranée. La réduction de l'incertitude dans la prévision de la transition extra-tropicale est donc un des enjeux de l'amélioration de la prévision d'événements extrêmes d'automne en Méditerranée.

This work investigates extreme weather events such as the onset of medicanes, which can cause severe socioeconomic impacts, along with their predictability. In order to accurately forecast such events, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and its state-of-the-art data assimilation modeling framework (WRFDA) were set up to produce high-resolution forecasts for the case study of Medicane Ianos, which affected Greece between 17 and 19 September 2020. Information from weather stations and the satellite precipitation product IMERG was blended with the background model information from the Global Forecast System (GFS) using the 4D variational data assimilation (4D-Var) technique. New fields in an 18 km spatial resolution domain covering Europe were generated and utilized as improved initial conditions for the forecast model. Forecasts were issued based on these improved initial conditions at two nested domains of 6 km and 2 km spatial resolution, with the 2 km domain enclosing Greece. Denial experiments, where no observational data were assimilated in the initial boundary conditions, showed that the temperature fields benefited throughout the forecasting horizon from the assimilation (ranging from a 5 to 10% reduction in the average MAE values), while neutral to slightly positive (ranging from a 0.4 to 2% reduction in the average MAE values) improvement was found for wind, although not throughout the forecast horizon. The increase in spatial resolution did not significantly reduce the forecast error, but was kept at the same small order of magnitude. A tendency of the model to overpredict precipitation regardless of assimilation was observed. The assimilation of the IMERG data improved the precipitation forecasting ability up to the 18th hour of forecast. When compared to assimilation experiments that excluded IMERG data, the assimilation of IMERG data produced a better representation of the spatial distribution of the precipitation fields.