Severe weather returns to Italy, with an orange alert in Lombardy and Liguria, and one person missing in Enna.
The forecast for Italy for today, Wednesday, August 20, according to the Italian Air Force Meteorological Service. North : widespread cloud cover, sometimes heavy, with showers and thunderstorms, accompanied by electrical activity and localized hailstorms, across Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, and neighboring areas of Emilia. During the early hours of the day, the severe weather will extend across the entire Alpine region, the Apennines, and the Triveneto region. In Romagna, alternating clearings and sometimes heavy cloud cover will occur, with scattered showers arriving in the morning.
Central Italy and Sardinia : Partly cloudy skies with scattered showers or thunderstorms, initially in Tuscany and Umbria, then rapidly extending to the Marche region and inland areas of Lazio and Abruzzo. Following the passage of Storm Lukas, further deterioration is expected in the afternoon, with a resurgence of thunderstorms, especially in Tuscany and the Maremma region of Lazio. Sardinia will be sunny, except for temporary cloud cover along the western coast and inland mountains, where occasional thunderstorms are possible, all during the central hours of the day.
South and Sicily : generally partly cloudy skies everywhere with a temporary increase in cloud cover during the central hours of the day, which could be associated with local phenomena especially over the Ionian sectors of Puglia and Calabria and the inland areas of Molise, Campania and Basilicata.
A night of lightning and heavy rain in Milan. Marco Granelli, the city councilor for mobility and the environment, posted on social media a few minutes ago that, so far, nearly 50 mm of water has fallen in the deluge that began at 2:00 a.m., adding that the same situation is occurring in Monza. The Lambro River is high, and the risk of flooding is real. "It exceeded 2.40 meters on Via Feltre, and therefore the evacuation of the Ceas community has been ordered," Granelli explained. "In Ponte Lambro, Via Vittorini has been closed with mobile flood barriers." Rainfall has been less intense in the Seveso basin, where the reservoir has not yet been activated.
The storm that hit the Ciociaria region last night caused significant damage and disruption: a landslide occurred on Monte Viglio, and several trees were uprooted by the incessant rain of the past few hours. In Castelliri, a tree fell onto the carriageway of the Sora-Frosinone highway, while in Frosinone, another tree blocked the Viale Roma road near the tunnel connecting the De Matthaeis plain to the upper part of the historic center. In both cases, the Fire Department intervened to clear the road, while in the capital, the Municipal Police blocked traffic toward the tunnel. Two landslides were the most serious. The largest occurred on Monte Viglio, the highest peak of the Cantari Mountains, at 2,000 meters above sea level, between Lazio and Abruzzo. The other landslide was recorded in Paliano along the 'Palianese Sud' provincial road.
Two cars ended up in the Crisa River in Leonforte, in the province of Enna, due to bad weather. The vehicles were located by firefighters, and two people were rescued. A search is underway, including with a helicopter from the Catania unit, for one of the occupants, who, according to witnesses, is missing. The cars were located on a small road perpendicular to provincial road 39 and parallel to the Crisa River in the Noce district.
The watercourse is almost always dry or reduced to a stream less than a meter wide: what should be its bed is covered in crops. "There was a water bomb," says Leonforte Mayor Piero Livolsi, "and the three people were swept away by the water. Two of them saved themselves by climbing onto the roof of their car. The other person is missing. The firefighters' helicopter had to leave because it is not authorized to fly at night. The search continues by land and with divers." The tragedy recalls the one that occurred in November 2018 in Casteldaccia (Palermo), when the Milicia River overflowed, killing nine people, including two children, who were trapped in the mud that invaded an illegal villa in the Dagali district. Vegetable crops were grown in the riverbed because the Milicia was almost always dry.
Severe weather warnings are in effect across Italy. In a few days, highs will drop by as much as 10 degrees Celsius, especially in the north. Temperatures will drop from 40 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius during the central hours of the day. Civil Protection has issued an orange alert for parts of Liguria and Lombardy on Wednesday, August 20, with a yellow alert for the remaining parts of the two regions, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, and parts of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Marche.
Rai News 24
