Temperatures drop by 10 degrees, bad weather has arrived

Severe weather warnings are in effect across Italy, while one person is already missing in Sicily: two cars ended up in the Crisa River in Leonforte , in the province of Enna, due to heavy rains. While two occupants were saved, first by climbing onto the roofs of the cars and then thanks to the intervention of firefighters, a third—according to survivors—is missing. The cars were on a small road perpendicular to provincial road 39 and parallel to the Crisa River in the Noce district. The river 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. "The firefighters' helicopter had to leave because it is not authorized for night flights. The search continued throughout the night by land and with divers."

Cars in Enna's stream due to bad weather; one person missing (August 19, 2025) (Ansa)

The Civil Protection Department has issued an orange alert for parts of Liguria and Lombardy today, 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 . Lorenzo Tedici, meteorologist and media manager for iLMeteo.it, explains that the next few hours will see the final spike in temperatures across much of the country. In a few days , highs will drop by as much as 10 degrees, especially in the north . In short, temperatures will drop from 40 degrees to 25 degrees during the central hours of the day.

Due to a weather alert, Palazzo Marino in Milan has activated the municipal Civil Protection operations center and decided to close parks today. The municipality of Bergamo has also decided to close parks and gardens. A van with Slovenian license plates was struck by a large branch that suddenly broke off yesterday afternoon near the Arena and Sempione Park in Milan; the driver and the two other people on board were fortunately unharmed despite the force of the impact.

A third heavy downpour in three days has hit Arezzo in the past few hours. The rainfall has caused flooding in several parts of the city, creating traffic problems. Roads and underpasses were flooded. Several trees fell onto the northbound carriageway of the Perugia-Bettolle motorway. This afternoon, a severe thunderstorm hit the Umbrian capital, bringing rain, lightning, and at times strong winds.

The Cagliari countryside is assessing the damage following the violent storms that have struck numerous farms in the past few hours, particularly in the areas of Monastir, Pimentel, Barrali, Senorbì, and the greater Cagliari area, but with repercussions across a much wider area. Torrential rains and hail have devastated crops, fodder, and farm structures, causing serious damage to farmers and ranchers. Vineyards and olive groves, including many organic farms, have paid the highest price. "In just a few hours, entire rows of vines have been knocked down or irreversibly damaged," laments Coldiretti.