Cyprus’ Meteorological Service does not issue sailing bans for ships or boats, a meteorological officer has clarified, following Saturday’s tragedy off Cape Greco in which one person died and others were injured after vessels ran aground in rough seas.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, meteorological officer Andreas Chrysanthou said there was no such concept as a formal “sailing ban” issued by the Meteorological Service.
Instead, the service issues a Sea Bulletin, which was in force on Saturday and warned of dangerous conditions.
“The wave height in the area, in the east, was close to 2.5 metres,” Chrysanthou said.
The bulletin also highlighted the orange weather warning that was in effect and warned of thunderstorms in coastal areas, accompanied by very strong gusts reaching eight to nine Beaufort.
“So, along with Saturday’s warning, we also had the Sea Bulletin, which was addressed to everyone involved with the sea and to the competent authorities, such as the port authorities,” he said.
Bulletin warned of dangerous seas
Chrysanthou said the bulletin clearly stated that sea conditions would be dangerous, with waves reaching up to 2.5 metres.
It also warned of strong thunderstorms, hail and gusty winds in coastal areas.
The Sea Bulletin covers waters extending up to eight kilometres from Cyprus’ coastline and is sent to all relevant authorities, port authorities across the island, private companies and individuals who own boats.
The bulletin is issued by the Meteorological Service and updated approximately every six hours.
Severe conditions were within orange warning parameters
Asked whether Saturday’s weather had been more severe than forecast, Chrysanthou said the conditions were consistent with the forecast.
“Unusual phenomena have been forecast,” the wording of the orange warning stated, adding that “damage and casualties may potentially occur”.
Chrysanthou said an orange warning of this severity, covering thunderstorms of the intensity experienced on Saturday, meant that the conditions observed were within the parameters of the warning.
“Both the intensity, the rainfall amounts and the intensity of the thunderstorms we had were, yes, within the framework of an orange warning,” he said.
He reiterated that the wording of the orange warning specifically highlighted the possibility of damage and casualties.
“While with a yellow warning we say that the weather may be dangerous, with an orange warning the weather is dangerous and there may potentially be damage and casualties,” he explained.
Severe weather system has moved away
The weather system that affected Cyprus on Saturday has now moved away, Chrysanthou said.
Sunday was expected to bring mainly clear conditions across most areas, with some cloud.
Clouds could develop mainly over mountainous areas and along the southern and south-eastern coasts, potentially bringing some rain or isolated thunderstorms.
However, Chrysanthou stressed that weather conditions were not expected to reach the severity seen on Saturday.
“Nothing like the phenomena we have seen is expected, but simply isolated rain and thunderstorms in these areas,” he said.
Similar conditions are expected on Monday, with no significant change forecast over the following days.
Temperatures set to rise
Temperatures, which fell noticeably on Saturday, are expected to gradually return to seasonal levels over the coming days.
Average temperatures for this time of year are around 36C inland, 30–32C in coastal areas and approximately 28C in the mountains.
“We will gradually return to those levels over the coming days. We may be there by Tuesday or Wednesday,” Chrysanthou said.
Temperatures on Sunday are expected to reach around 34C inland, compared with 31C on Saturday, with conditions expected to return to seasonal averages from Monday.
Source: CNA
