Sicily's Aeolian islands were cut off
by bad weather on Friday and schools were shut due to torrential
rain on Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi
and Panarea.
Torrential rain-swelled floods hit many parts of Sicily
including Taormina where the Alvcantar river was in flood, and
Catania where fire brigade workers had to rescue a man whose car
was submerged.
Also in Sicily, trees and masonry were felled by gales at
Caltanissetta.
Schools were also closed in some parts of Sardinia.
A weather alert was also in place in Calabria.
One of Italy's top weathermen, Antonio Sanò, said that the
"extreme" bad weather caused by a Tunisian vortex will continue
to sweep Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria in the next few hours,
with a 'load of rain to be unleashed and a high risk of
flooding.
Also over the weekend, said sanò, the precipitation will mainly
hit southern Italy, but also the North on Sunday.
Sanò, founder of the site 'iLMeteo.it', added that due to the
warm flow of Sirocco winds, the snow that has fallen in recent
days will melt and contribute to the flooding of the rivers.
Very heavy rains (snow above 1500 meters) will hit Sicily,
eastern Calabria and Tyrrhenian Sardinia; in the afternoon the
most intense phenomena will always concentrate on the same
areas, causing potentially flooding situations.
The winds will blow with cyclonic rotation around the low
pressure centered north of Tunisia: we will have storms of
Grecale-Levante towards Sardinia, Sirocco on the Ionian and
mainly from the east on the southern Tyrrhenian.
Gusts exceeding 100 km/h are feared with waves up to 5-6 metres
on exposed basins, with consequent storm surges.
In short, Sanò points out, "we will have a black Friday the 17th
from a meteorological point of view: rain up to 200 mm in 24
hours (200 litres of water per square metre), 2 metres of snow
on the peaks of Etna, strong winds, storm surges and potential
floods.
On Saturday the bad weather will move a little north, still
affecting southern Italy.
Finally, on Sunday the rain will still affect the south, but the
sky will also be overcast in the north where weak phenomena are
expected in Piedmont; in the Centre we will have rain especially
in Sardinia and on the Tyrrhenian side, while scattered showers
will still affect western Sicily and the Ionian sectors between
Calabria and Puglia.
Detailed forecastl: - Friday the 17th. In the North: sunny. In
the Centre: partly cloudy sky, widespread bad weather in
Sardinia. In the South: intense bad weather in Sicily and
Calabria, rain in Basilicata and Cilento
. - Saturday the 18th. In the North: initially sunny, worsening
by evening. In the Centre: bad weather in Sardinia, scattered
rain in the rest of the regions. In the South: intense bad
weather from Calabria towards Basilicata and Puglia.
- Sunday 19. In the North: overcast skies, scattered showers in
Liguria, Piedmont and Triveneto. In the Center: rains in
Sardinia and locally on the Tyrrhenian side of the peninsula. In
the South: rains on western Sicily and the Ionian sectors.
- Outlook: more bad weather on Monday in the South, then
partial improvement.
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