Heavy rainfall and strong winds, particularly across northern regions, dominated the second Sunday of July. Meteorologist Mattia Gussoni from iLMeteo.it forecasts a shift to sunshine and heat nationwide starting Monday.
The storms were triggered by a disturbance from the North Atlantic, which brought cooler upper-level air masses that clashed with existing warm air.
“This interaction between different air masses,” Gussoni explains, “increases the risk of particularly intense thunderstorms capable of persisting over the same areas for many hours.”
Persistent rain and a risk of cloudbursts are expected. The areas at highest risk, according to the bulletin, “will primarily be the Alps, Prealps, and nearby plains of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, and Friuli Venezia Giulia, followed by central and eastern Liguria, Tuscany, and Lazio. For these latter regions, besides heavy precipitation, very strong wind gusts are also forecast along the coasts.”
In contrast, sunshine continues across southern regions.
The thunderstorms are expected to be short-lived. Heat and summer temperatures will return on Monday.
“The high-pressure area,” Gussoni notes, “will bring masses of warm subtropical air. This will cause not only greater atmospheric stability with plenty of sunshine but also a surge in temperatures. The heat will be especially felt across the northern plains, the Tyrrhenian regions, and the two major islands (Sicily and Sardinia), where temperatures will widely exceed 32-34°C during the afternoon hours.”
Detailed Forecast:
**Sunday 13th:** North – Risk of strong thunderstorms, especially in Triveneto and Liguria. Centre – Thunderstorms over Tyrrhenian areas and Sardinia. South – Sunny.
**Monday 14th:** North – Local thunderstorms over the Alps. Centre – Sunny. South – Sunny and hotter.
**Tuesday 15th:** North – Sunny and hot. Centre – Sunny. South – Sunny and hot.