Medistorm “Helios” (Blas) forms over the island of Mallorca, Spain

An area of low pressure located over the western Mediterranean Sea has acquired subtropical characteristics over the past couple of days and now meets the designation criteria for a medicine, the Mediterranean Cyclone Center (MCC) reports. The storm has been named Helios by MCC while the Spanish national meteorological agency AEMET named it Windstorm Blas.

Helios has been looping around the island of Mallorca and appears to want to stay in the vicinity for a while, MCC said in their forecast discussion issued 12:00 UTC on November 11, 2021.¹

Models suggest that it will eventually move off to the southeast, but then we have a model fork: one tine suggests a trip to Sardinia, the other has Helios dissipating as it moves toward the Algerian coast.

All models show weakening, at least in the short term.

The forecast track follows the current consensus of dissipation on a SE track, but Helios may live longer.

Medistorm "Helios" at 13:15 UTC on November 11, 2021. Credit: EUMETSAT/Meteosat-11, RAMMB/CIRA, TW

Helios is currently located over the island of Mallorca and heavy rain and wind are ongoing there.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph), minimum central pressure of 1 007 hPa, and was moving E at 4 km/h (2.5 mph).

It has a very compact area of convection over the center and none elsewhere.

This is a pattern more characteristic of a tropical system than a subtropical system, but Helios has yet to maintain the tropical pattern for long enough to designate as tropical. Impacts will continue on Mallorca for the next day or so.

Reference:

¹ 11 Nov 2021 | 1200 UTC | 03M/HELIOS – ADVISORY 1 – MCC

Featured image: Medistorm "Helios" at 13:15 UTC on November 11, 2021. Credit: EUMETSAT/Meteosat-11, RAMMB/CIRA, TW