(CNN) Egypt and Israel are preparing for the onset of heavy rains and strong winds as a rare "medicane" barrels toward them. Medicanes are named for a combination of "Mediterranean" and "hurricane" due to their blend of tropical and extratropical cyclone characteristics. We're monitoring this cluster of thunderstorms (the red splodges) close to Cyprus as a potential '#medicane' develops, something that is incredibly rare this far east in the Mediterranean. Egypt's capital, Cairo, has experienced severe flooding from heavy rains already this past week from an unrelated storm system, killing at least 11 people. Cairo may fortunately miss the worst of the rainfall as the system moves past the city to the east.

Source: CNN October 25, 2019 17:48 UTC