Extreme heat, relief on the way. Stormy weather on the way
Temperatures will soon start to drop, beginning in the north. This is due to a cold front coming in from the Atlantic.
The temperatures will soon begin to fall, starting in the north. This is due to a weather system coming in from the Atlantic, a new cold front that is expected to displace the African high-pressure system responsible for the fourth heatwave.
Thunderstorms may be on the way
How will the weather situation ‘It will depend on the strength of this trough: if it expands rapidly, then we could see severe thunderstorms over the Tyrrhenian regions, the North-West and Piedmont,” says meteorologist Matteo Rossi, a forecaster with the Lamma Consortium, a joint initiative between the Tuscany Region and the CNR.
“The cold air carried aloft by the weather system,” he continues, “will in fact collide with the warmer air in the layers below: a phenomenon in which very warm sea temperatures play a part and which leads to the development of thunderstorms – some of them severe – accompanied by lightning and hailstorms. If, on the other hand, the low-pressure system remains further west, becoming isolated over the western Mediterranean, then the effects could be more limited. In this case,” adds the expert, “we would see bad weather over Sardinia and, once again, along the Tyrrhenian coast.”
The forecasts
It is not easy to predict how this weather system will develop: apart from the thunderstorms that have already hit Tuscany and Lazio, the rain could become persistent in the north as early as Sunday, whilst central and southern Italy are likely to have to wait until Tuesday. The weather is expected to be changeable throughout next week, with rain and showers continuing at least until Friday. Conditions are not expected to improve until the weekend of 22–24 August, when temperatures in southern Italia are likely to be somewhat milder, with maximum temperatures of around 30–32 degrees.
Fewer red stickers
The red alerts in the heatwave bulletin also confirm the forthcoming drop in temperatures: on Thursday 13 August, 18 of the 27 urban centres under consideration were classified as having the highest risk level for the entire population, whilst on 14 August this figure fell to just 7. Yesterday, the only cities marked in orange (heat risk only for the most vulnerable) were Ancona and Cagliari, whilst the other six cities were marked in yellow, the pre-alert status for a possible heatwave (Brescia, Milan, Turin, Trieste, Venice and Verona).
