Bad weather: orange alert in Calabria and Sicily, yellow for eight regions

The bad weather alert continues, it is orange in Calabria, yellow in Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily and Umbria. An intense westerly flow is affecting the Mediterranean, with disturbing impulses arriving from the Atlantic that will bring strong winds, widespread rainfall and snowfall, even substantial in the Alps.

In the 24 hours leading up to Thursday, the Fire Brigade carried out more than 320 interventions due to bad weather in Sardinia and Calabria. In Sardinia, violent gusts of wind hit the provinces of Sassari and Nuoro in particular, with more than 200 interventions carried out for crumbling trees and static instability. The most critical areas were in Gallura, where the wind tore roofs off and felled trees. In Arzachena, rescuers intervened on the Sp14 road to assist a person stuck under a fallen tree in the street.

At the same time, a strong disturbance hit the territory of Calabria, with the province of Catanzaro among the hardest hit areas: the fire brigade carried out 120 interventions, mainly focused on securing building elements and removing fallen or unsafe trees.

On the basis of the available forecasts, the Civil Protection Department, in agreement with the regions involved, has issued a further severe weather warning that supplements and extends the one issued yesterday. From today morning, the warning predicts snowfall above 1,200-1,300 metres in Valle d'Aosta, with moderate to locally heavy accumulations.

Also expected are strong or gale force winds from the western quadrants, with gusts up to gale force over Valle d'Aosta, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Campania and Basilicata. Gale to strong westerly winds, with gusts up to gale force, will affect Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily. Possible sea storms along the exposed coasts.