Medicane “Scott” makes landfall over Egypt, heavy rain spreading through the region
Medicane "Scott" made landfall southeast of Port Said, northeastern Egypt early October 26, 2019, with maximum sustained winds of 72 km/h (45 mph) and gusts to 80 km/h (50 mph). The storm had minimum central pressure of 1 006 hPa and was moving SE at 10 km/h (6 mph) prior to landfall.
Scott weakened to a 'medistorm' after landfall and continued spreading rain over the region.
"Any areas to the east of the center, such as the Eastern Sinai Peninsula, Gaza City, Tel Aviv, and areas through Israel and Palestine could see heavy rain at times, with areas closer to the center seeing the heaviest rain, up to 200 mm (8 inches)," according to unofficial Mediterranean Cyclone Center.
Medicane "Scott" on October 26, 2019. Credit: NASA Terra/MODIS
The region affected by this storm is arid with an average of 10 – 20 mm (0.4 – 0.8 inches) of rain during the entire month of October. This storm, with 200 mm (8 inches) expected on Friday and Saturday, October 25 and 26, may bring as much as 10 times as much, resulting in serious flooding.
Egypt, especially capital Cairo, was already drenched this past week by an unrelated storm that left at least 11 people dead.
According to UK Met Office meteorologists, storms like this are incredibly rare this far east. On average, the Mediterranean Sea sees only one or two storms like this per year, according to a study published back in 2011.
Although generally much weaker than their Atlantic and Pacific counterparts, they can be extremely dangerous and bring prolonged periods of very heavy rain, resulting in widespread devastation and deaths.
Read more: Medicanes at The Watchers
Featured image: Medicane "Scott" on October 25, 2019. Credit: NASA Aqua/MODIS
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Why do they not dig reservoirs where the flooding occurs? A lot of the water could be conserved in temporary lakes which would either soak into the aquifers, or evaporate and form more rain clouds. I might also be available for irrigation or drinking water. It would almost certainly alleviate some of the dangerous flooding.