Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 26 11th EGU Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms (2009) 2010 10.5194/adgeo-26-49-2010 http://www.adv-geosci.net/26/49/2010/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/26/49/2010/adgeo-26-49-2010.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/26/49/2010/adgeo-26-49-2010.pdf 49 51 2010-07-07 Tornado activity in Greece within the 20th century P. T. Nastos nastos@geol.uoa.gr J. T. Matsangouras Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 157 84 Athens, Greece Tornado activity is associated with extreme convective weather which can cause extended damage and even in some cases the loss of life. The complex inland terrain of Greece along with the Ionian Sea at the west and the Aegean Sea at the east appear to be a favorable area for fury phenomena such as tornadoes, waterspouts and funnel clouds. <br><br> In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of tornado activity in Greece for the period 1900–1999 are presented. The spatial distribution of tornadoes, waterspouts and funnel clouds reveals the vulnerability of specific geographical areas, such as the west Greece and the south Aegean Sea. As far as the intra annual variability is concerned, the maximum of tornado activity dominates within the cold period of the year (October–March) while according to the daily distribution, tornadoes happen frequently during the warm hours of the day. It is remarkable to mention that in Greece, within the 20th century, the tornado activity caused the loss of 4 lifes, the injury of 40 people and numerous damages on human constructions and cultivations. % vor jede Referenz Dessens, J. and Snow, J. T.: Tornadoes in France, Weather Forecast., 4, 110–132, 1987. Dessens, J.: Les Trombes en France, Climatologie et Caracteristiques Physiques, Lannemezan, France, 1984. Dotzek, N.: Tornadoes in Germany, Atmos. Res., 56, 233–251, 2001. Fujita, T. T.: Tornadoes around the world, Weatherwise, 26, 56–83, 1973. Holzer, A. M.: Tornado climatology of Austria, Atmos. Res., 56, 203–211, 2001. Kanellopoulou, H.: The waterspout of 1st September 1973 in Corfu, Bull. Greek Met. Soc., 5(5), 41–50, 1977 (in Greek). Keul, A. G.: A series of waterspouts off the Cretan north coast 5th September 2002, J. Meteorol., 28(275), 15–26, 2003. Kyriazopoulos, V. and Livadas, G.: Practical Meteorology, 296–298, Univ.\ Thess, 1975. Livadas, G.: Fish rain in western Macedonia, Meteorologika, No. 2, Publ. Met. Inst. Univ. Thess., Thessaloniki, 1954. Matsangouras, J. T. and Nastos, P. T.: The 27 July 2002 tornado event in Athens, Greece, Adv. Sci. Res., 4, 9–13, 2010. Paul, J. F.: An inventory of tornadoes in France, Weather, 54, 217–219, 1999. Reynolds, D. J.: European tornado climatology 1960–1989, J. Meteorol., 24, 376–403, 1999. Sioutas, M. V.: Damaging tornadoes in Greece: July and September 2001, J. Meteorol., 27, 17–22, 2002. Sioutas, M. V.: Tornadoes and waterspouts in Greece, Atmos. Res., 67–68, 645–656, 2003. Tyrrell, J.: Tornadoes in Ireland: an historical and empirical approach, Atmos. Res., 56, 281–290, 2001. Zavolgenskiy, M. V. and Rutkevich, P. B.: Tornado funnel-shaped cloud as convection in a cloudy layer, Adv. Sci. Res., 3, 17–21, 2009.