Weather warnings as northern Italy braces for storms over the weekend
Italian authorities issued storm alerts on Friday as high winds and two months' worth of rainfall in one day were expected to hit the north of the country.
Italy's civil protection department issued medium-level amber storm alerts for Friday in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, with lower-level yellow alerts in place for parts of nine more regions, as a cyclone named 'Medusa' by meteorologists is expected to bring severe weather conditions.
Weather reports warned of intense rainfall throughout Friday, particularly in the coastal region of Liguria, where the storms are also expected to cause waves of up to six metres high.
"Strong or very strong winds are expected everywhere, with gusts across Liguria, the Apennines and the Alps," said Antonio Sanò, meteorologist and founder of the IlMeteo.it weather website.
He described Friday's storm as "an extraordinary situation requiring full alert."
📆 Venerdì #20ottobre
🔔🟠 #allertaARANCIONE meteo-idro in Lombardia, Piemonte, Emilia-Romagna e Liguria
🔔🟡 #allertaGIALLA in 9 regioni
⛈💨 Piogge e venti di burrasca su gran parte dell’Italia. Leggi l'avviso del #19ottobre 👉 https://t.co/9r94biE7X8 #protezionecivile pic.twitter.com/EODZpRB6o6
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) October 19, 2023
Several schools throughout the Liguria region were closed on Friday ahead of expected bad weather, news agency Ansa reported.
Venice had raised the MOSE flood barrier on Friday morning as the city was on alert for expected high water levels.
The rest of the north is expected to see scattered rainfall and thunderstorms throughout the day. Heavy rain could also arrive further south in the afternoon, forecasts said, reaching Sardinia and Campania.
Further south meanwhile, unusually warm weather was forecast as "air currents also associated with cyclone Medusa will instead bring heat, with peaks of 35°C in Sicily and 33°C in Calabria: it will also be very hot between Romagna and Marche due to dry winds descending from the Apennines," explained Sanò.
The heat in southern regions was however forecast to end "abruptly" over the weekend with the arrival of a cold air front.
Further bad weather was expected for all parts of the country on Friday night and into Saturday, according to meteorologists, as storm Aline moves in from the north.
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Italy's civil protection department issued medium-level amber storm alerts for Friday in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, with lower-level yellow alerts in place for parts of nine more regions, as a cyclone named 'Medusa' by meteorologists is expected to bring severe weather conditions.
Weather reports warned of intense rainfall throughout Friday, particularly in the coastal region of Liguria, where the storms are also expected to cause waves of up to six metres high.
"Strong or very strong winds are expected everywhere, with gusts across Liguria, the Apennines and the Alps," said Antonio Sanò, meteorologist and founder of the IlMeteo.it weather website.
He described Friday's storm as "an extraordinary situation requiring full alert."
📆 Venerdì #20ottobre
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) October 19, 2023
🔔🟠 #allertaARANCIONE meteo-idro in Lombardia, Piemonte, Emilia-Romagna e Liguria
🔔🟡 #allertaGIALLA in 9 regioni
⛈💨 Piogge e venti di burrasca su gran parte dell’Italia. Leggi l'avviso del #19ottobre 👉 https://t.co/9r94biE7X8 #protezionecivile pic.twitter.com/EODZpRB6o6
Several schools throughout the Liguria region were closed on Friday ahead of expected bad weather, news agency Ansa reported.
Venice had raised the MOSE flood barrier on Friday morning as the city was on alert for expected high water levels.
The rest of the north is expected to see scattered rainfall and thunderstorms throughout the day. Heavy rain could also arrive further south in the afternoon, forecasts said, reaching Sardinia and Campania.
Further south meanwhile, unusually warm weather was forecast as "air currents also associated with cyclone Medusa will instead bring heat, with peaks of 35°C in Sicily and 33°C in Calabria: it will also be very hot between Romagna and Marche due to dry winds descending from the Apennines," explained Sanò.
The heat in southern regions was however forecast to end "abruptly" over the weekend with the arrival of a cold air front.
Further bad weather was expected for all parts of the country on Friday night and into Saturday, according to meteorologists, as storm Aline moves in from the north.
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