As Sunday dawned and the whole country prepared to elect the same irresponsible politicians, I received an MMS from my sister who was camping at Chiliadou beach, with the snapshot of a beautiful waterspout approachingthe coast, in the Aegean side of the island of Evia. A slight drizzle and high humidity had preceded the appearance of this tube. Unfortunately the only pictures I have in my hands are the ones from my sister 's mobile. As a fellow amateur meteorologist Angelos from the Hellas Weather mailing list reported from Dirfis plateau that the clouds base was very low and drizzle was reported also. This matches well with with the conditions down in Chiliadou beach, just 15 km away in straight line. The tube spinned a few dozens of meters away from the coast and when it touched it, it dissappeared in the clouds, as some divine hand picked it up again in the gray skies. It is usual, as when it reaches the much drier land, it loses its primary feeding ingredients: moisture and heat. Of course, Greece is not as famous as the Great Plains in the States for its waterspouts and tornadoes. And of course not so deadly as they are there. Statistically speaking, more tornadoes are observed in the Mediterranean basin than in the Great Plains, but in contrast they are harmless.Waterspouts are not unusual in Chiliadou; they were observed once again in June '06.
Enjoy!
