A Comparative Analysis of Two Mediterranean Tornado Hotspots

An updated climatology of EF1+ (Enhanced Fujita category 1 or stronger) tornadoes in Italy (445 events the period 1990–2021) confirms that central Tyrrhenian (CT) and southeastern (SE) regions Italian peninsula represent two areas most affected by Mediterranean. We performed a comparative analysis between these hotspots, examining large-scale atmospheric features associated to tornado occurrences, throughout radiosounding observations reanalysis (ERA5) fields. The conditions which develop are investigated using metrics regarding instability and/or horizontal/vertical wind shear. Common synoptic characteristics found for both regions, i.e., prevalent occurrence on eastern flank approaching troughs, with moderate shear/CAPE mean values. A large number high-shear/low-CAPE (HSLC) environment, presence positive sea surface 850 hPa temperature anomalies. Conversely, upper-level winds suggest different tornado-spawning cells areas, multi-cells/linear systems CT isolated supercells SE. maximum values some typical fields/instability parameters around hotspots permit obtention thresholds identify favorable environments formation areas.