Cold Snap Eases in Italy but New Wave of Bad Weather Expected from Friday

Rome: The cold snap that has blanketed many parts of Italy with snow is easing, but meteorologists warn that a new wave of adverse weather is set to hit the Bel Paese starting Friday.

According to Ansa News Agency, meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici from the site www.iLMeteo.it explained that while the Azores anticyclone continues to dominate the weather in much of Europe, bringing Arctic air to Italy, the cyclone responsible for recent widespread snowfall is moving towards Greece. However, before the weekend, a more intense Mediterranean cyclone is expected to arrive, particularly affecting the South and the islands.

Tedici noted that Wednesday’s weather will remain mostly stable, with precipitation limited to Sicily. A weaker nucleus of cold air is anticipated to move from the Balkans towards Sardinia, reinvigorating an active depression circulation over Algeria. This development will give rise to a Mediterranean cyclone, which is expected to negatively impact the weather in certain regions starting Friday and affect a large part of Italy over the weekend.

The persistent Grecale winds will continue until Thursday, after which the central and southern regions will experience Sirocco winds rotating around the cyclone, leading to an increase in temperatures across at least half of Italy. However, the North will remain cold, with winds blowing from the north-eastern quadrants.

Over the weekend, the cyclone is expected to impact Italy, bringing persistent rain to Sardinia, Sicily, Calabria, and later to Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, and Lazio. In addition to rain, the southern basins will experience strong winds, with Sirocco and Levante storms expected to produce gusts up to 100 km/h and cause storm surges on exposed coasts. The North is likely to avoid the bulk of the precipitation but will see increased cloudiness on Sunday.

The detailed forecast is as follows: On Wednesday, the North will be sunny and cold, the Center will see gradually overcast skies, and the South will experience rain in northern Sicily and cloudy conditions elsewhere. On Thursday, the North will continue to have good weather and cold conditions, the Center will have irregular clouds with rain in eastern Sardinia, and the South will see clouds and evening rain in Ionian Sicily and Calabria. On Friday, the North will be sunny, the Center will have partly cloudy skies with widespread bad weather in Sardinia, and the South will experience intense bad weather in Sicily and Calabria, with rain in Basilicata and Cilento. The outlook for the weekend includes rain in the Center-South and strong winds.