Egypt and Israel are preparing for the onset of
heavy rains and strong winds as a rare "medicane" barrels toward
them. Medicanes are named for a combination of "Mediterranean" and
"hurricane" due to their blend of tropical and extratropical cyclone
characteristics. Up to 200 mm (nearly 8 inches) of rain is possible locally
from Friday to late Saturday as the storm moves through the region, raising
concerns for flash flooding. Northeastern Egypt, southern Israel, the
Palestinian territories and the Sinai Peninsula are arid regions that receive
an average of 10-20 mm (nearly half an inch to almost an inch) of rain in
October. This storm may bring 10 times as much rain as normally falls in the
entire month of October and it could fall in only a few hours. Egypt's capital,
Cairo, has experienced severe flooding from heavy rains already this past week
from an unrelated storm system, killing at least 11 people. Cairo may
fortunately miss the worst of the rainfall as the system moves past the city to
the east. Satellite imagery suggests current wind speeds upward of 20 mph at
sea, and some models suggest that sustained wind speeds of 40 mph may be felt
on shore early Saturday morning.
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