Every so often when the jet stream takes a southward dip over the heart of Europe, spilling cold upper level air down with it, the resulting trough often can form a low over the Med Sea, like with this instance, the low becomes cut off with the jet returning back north.

With the warm waters beneath, these lows can appear to take on some semi tropical characteristics and can deepen. This setup means there is a degree of hybrid forcing and not solely baroclinic. Big rains, dramatic thunderstorms and often flash flooding and waterspouts can result as well as strong winds. I’ve seen some amazing photos of a large waterspout off Malta and Ibiza as a result of the spin created by the low.

Check out these photos.

Want to know more about the ‘Mediterranean Hurricane’? Mediterranean tropical cyclone

Here’s a few great youtube videos capturing some of the action across the central Med island of Malta over the past 48 hours.