The week of Christmas is preparing to change its face, leaving room for a decidedly more wintry scenario. According to the latest meteorological analyses, Italy will be affected by a progressive worsening of the weather, linked to the arrival of a cyclone of polar origin, fueled by cold currents descending from Greenland towards the Mediterranean. An evolution that marks the return of more suitable conditions at the end of December.
In the first days of the week, a disturbance rising from North Africa will continue to influence the South above all, with widespread rainfall in Sicily, Calabria and the Ionian sectors, before also extending to Salento and Metaponto. At the same time, starting from the winter solstice, the weather will also begin to worsen in the North-West and Sardinia, with increasing precipitation from the afternoon and the first snowfalls in the Western Alps above 1200 metres.
The most delicate phase is expected from today Monday 22 December, when the cyclone will come into its own, positioning itself between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the central Mediterranean. In this configuration, the western regions will be more exposed to rain and showers, while the Adriatic side could initially remain drier. Italy will thus find itself divided between marked instability and temporary pauses.
Eve and Christmas amidst rain, snow in the Alps and a drop in temperature
Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, rainfall will tend to involve much of the Centre-North, with intermittent but locally intense phenomena. Temperatures are expected to decrease, favoring a lowering of the snow level: flakes in the Alps already above 700 meters and in the Apennines around 1000 meters. An evolution that could offer a snowy Christmas in mountain resorts.
Experts are reporting very significant snow accumulations in the western Alps, where above 1600-1800 meters more than two meters of new snow could fall in the space of a week. The situation in the Dolomites, however, is less generous, where rainfall will remain below average. All this will be accompanied by sustained winds, in particular Bora, and an increasingly colder climate.
Looking beyond Christmas, the final days of the year could be influenced by further outbreaks of cold air from Eastern Europe. If confirmed, they would bring more bitter cold, marking the onset of real winter in our country.
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