The 27 July 2002 tornado event in Athens, Greece

Abstract. This study analyzes the tornado event on 27 July 2002 at Athens International Airport (Eleutherios Venizelos), a suburban area located at the east of Athens. The tornado was formed approximately at 10:20 UTC and characterized as T4 (Torro Scale). A synoptic discussion of the ECMWF analysis charts from the surface up to the 500 hPa geopotential height level is presented along with the daily composite anomaly (reference period: 1968–1996) of the relative meteorological parameters from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset. The vertical profile of the atmosphere is also presented, and derived from the operational sounding of the nearest upper air meteorological station to the tornado incidence site. The dynamic indices of the atmosphere revealed unstable atmospheric conditions capable for thunderstorm formation. The tornado caused injuries to a woman due to the shift of a parked airplane during the disembarkation procedure and also several damage at the airport facilities.