Nineteen cities with a red flag on the day that opens the week of August, with the heat of this summer it doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave the field. From Bari to Genoa, passing through Rome, Naples and Palermo, the Ministry of Health has confirmed the maximum risk level in much of the country for 12 August, the same as recorded the previous day.
The anticyclone that doesn’t give up
Holding the reins of the situation is the subtropical anticyclone, which will remain the dominant figure for the rest of the week over central-southern Europe and Italy. The weather will remain largely stable and sunny, but the climate will remain very hot and muggy. A few degrees less will be felt from today in the northern regions, while elsewhere there will be no significant changes: the highest peaks, between 38 and 39°C, will remain concentrated in the hinterlands of Sardinia, Campania, Cosentino, Materano and western Sicily. Along the coasts the heat will be felt a little less, thanks to the mitigating effect of the sea breezes.
Today and tomorrow
In the next few hours the sky will remain mostly clear, except for some thunderstorms on the western Piedmont plain which are destined to weaken already in the morning. From the afternoon, showers and heat thunderstorms will form in the Alps, Pre-Alps and Apennines, in particular in the central-northern sectors and in Campania, with possible spillovers towards the coast of the lower Tyrrhenian Sea; isolated phenomena are not excluded even in the internal areas of Sardinia and eastern Sicily. Temperatures will drop slightly in the North, but will remain high everywhere, with peaks of 37-39°C in the Centre-South.
Thursday 13 August
The script will change little: sunny morning across Italy, then in the afternoon new showers and thunderstorms in the central-western Alps, the Apennines and the inland areas of Sardinia and Sicily, at times strong and with possible hail, with some encroachment towards the Campania coast. A weak flow of northern currents within the anticyclone will bring a slight drop in temperature to the Adriatic regions and the South, without however affecting the widespread heat.
Friday 14 August
The sun will dominate in the morning, while in the afternoon showers and some thunderstorms, locally strong, will develop in the central-western Alps, the southern Apennines and the internal areas of the major islands, easing with the arrival of the evening. Temperatures will not undergo significant variations.
The August bank holiday weekend and the arrival of the storm
The African anticyclone will continue to guarantee stable weather and intense heat. On Saturday 15th, August 15th, heat storms will once again affect the central-western Alps and the adjacent plains, as well as the southern Apennines and the internal areas of the major islands. On Sunday 16th the situation will become slightly more complicated: the approach of a front from the west will bring thunderstorms already in the morning to the western Alps, intensifying and extending to the entire Alpine arc during the day, with locally strong spillovers towards the western plains. Some heat storms are also expected on the Apennines and major islands. The heat will still remain the protagonist, with a few degrees less only in the Northwest.
In the period between 17 and 20 August it could mark the return of the so-called “15th August storm”, which will be characterized by rain especially in the North – along the upper and middle Tyrrhenian Sea – and Atlantic currents, with more tolerable temperatures.
The recommendations of the Ministry
The alert system of the Ministry of Health, active from 25 May to 20 September with the technical support of the Department of Epidemiology of the Lazio Region, updates the bulletins from Monday to Friday with 24, 48 and 72 hour forecasts for 27 cities. The usual recommendations remain valid: avoid direct exposure to the sun between 11am and 6pm, drink regularly, prefer light meals and pay attention to the elderly, small children and lonely people. The public utility number 1500 is also active until 11 September.
