Meteorologist says system approaching Crete is not a Mediterranean cyclone
Meteorologist Nikos Kanteres says the low-pressure system expected to affect Crete from Tuesday evening and through Wednesday is not a Mediterranean cyclone, despite growing public discussion about the approaching change in weather. Speaking to neakriti.gr, he said the system would bring notable and locally intense rainfall but, in his assessment, was not expected to cause flooding.
How the low is forming
According to Kanteres, the system is a shallow barometric low that will form in the wider area of the southern Cretan Sea and the North African coast, specifically near the coast of Libya’s Tinida. He said upper-atmosphere conditions, including a trough of low pressure, are creating favorable conditions for its development. The low is then expected to move slowly eastward while gradually weakening.
“What will affect Crete tomorrow evening and on Wednesday is certainly not a Mediterranean cyclone,” Kanteres said.
When rain reaches Crete
The first effects of the system are expected from Tuesday afternoon, with western Crete initially closer to the affected area. “On Tuesday afternoon it might move toward the western Peloponnese and will also affect Chania regional unit with some rain,” Kanteres said. The low is then forecast to move south of Crete, bringing rain to parts of the island, with some areas potentially seeing more intense conditions. “It will pass south of Crete and will produce phenomena there, locally intense, but it will not be a Mediterranean cyclone,” he reiterated.
Heavy rain, but no flooding expected
Kanteres said the amounts of rainfall expected across Crete would be significant, though current data does not point to flooding. “My opinion is that the rain that will fall will not cause flooding. It is a low that will bring good rainfall,” he said. He noted that this assessment is based on current forecast data, since the exact intensity and geographic distribution of the rain will depend on the low’s final track. Separately, OFYPEKA has urged caution at Samaria Gorge ahead of the unstable weather forecast for Tuesday.
System moves toward the Dodecanese Wednesday
The system’s effect on Crete is not expected to last long. Kanteres said that during Wednesday the low will continue its eastward path and move away toward the Dodecanese, having already begun to weaken. He also noted that this is a separate barometric system from a second low affecting other parts of Greece, distinct from forecast models tracking a possible Mediterranean cyclone discussed elsewhere. For Crete, the main feature of the change will be rain from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, with locally more intense phenomena in places, though Kanteres maintained the system does not meet the criteria for a Mediterranean cyclone.
