Storm Ballos
October 2021 European windstorm in Europe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Storm Ballos was a notable extratropical cyclone that caused devastating floods across Greece during mid-October 2021. The second storm to be officially named in conjunction with the naming list of the former, Israel and Cyprus, Ballos formed on 13 October over the Mediterranean Sea from the combination of a frontal system and a circulation which first developed, two days earlier. It then moved over Greece, before proceeding into the Aegean Sea, where it slowly weakened and dissipated by 16 October. However, despite the HNMC naming the system, the Free University of Berlin (FUB) didn’t assign any name on it along with its weather maps.
Type | Extratropical cyclone |
---|---|
Formed | 13 October 2021 |
Dissipated | 16 October 2021 |
Lowest pressure | 1005[1] mb (29.68 inHg) |
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 15 cm (5.9 in) |
Maximum rainfall | >460 mm (18 in) in Ithaca |
Fatalities | 2 total |
Damage | A balcony collapsed in the Athens suburb of Halandri. |
Power outages | Unknown |
Areas affected | France (Corsica), Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania |
Part of the 2021–22 European windstorm season |
Overall, Ballos caused heavy destruction in Greece, not a week after Storm Athina struck the country. Heavy rainfall caused many disruptions in transportation, along with the storm-spawned flash floods. Over 1,000 calls for help were received by Fire Brigade authorities and traffic bans were implemented to regulate traffic. Ithaca was impacted by 460 millimetres (18 inches) of rainfall, the highest in association with the system. Two more areas received rainfall higher than 260 millimetres (10 inches). In addition, Ballos also brought the first snow to the country, with Western Macedonia, with 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) falling there. Two deaths were reported in the country, all due to them being swept away by strong currents of floods.