Susanna Riva A severe weather system settled over Italy starting on Thursday, September 17, triggering a wave of rain and thunderstorms that affected central and northern Italy and, in the following days, also the south. According to meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici , the hardest-hit areas included the Triveneto region, Liguria, northern Tuscany, and Lombardy, with persistent rainfall at times and a drop in temperatures of at least 5°C in the wettest areas.
Lorenzo Tedici's forecast: a disturbed front from North to South
The weather warning model indicates that, while the North will experience scattered showers and violent thunderstorms, the Center will experience irregular precipitation and the South will remain temporarily protected by a high pressure area, with maximum temperatures potentially reaching 30°C. The forecast for the next three days is as follows:
- Thursday 17 scattered rain and thunderstorms in the North, irregular rain in the Center, sunny weather in the South.
- Friday 18 scattered rain in the North, very unstable conditions in the Center, instability in the South with rain and thunderstorms.
- Saturday 19 Cloudy but dry skies in the North, variable skies in the Center with some local rain, scattered showers in the South and strong thunderstorms in Sardinia.
The outlook for Sunday is for further instability in the South, with more frequent phenomena in Sicily, Calabria, and the central Adriatic, while the rest of the country will see a gradual improvement.
Human costs and emergency response
The severe weather has caused several tragedies. In Tuscany, in Sinalunga (Siena), an elderly woman in her 80s died after a tornado shattered a window; a shard of glass severed a saphenous vein, causing rapid bleeding. Mayor Edo Zacchei confirmed the death. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in Latisana (Udine), an 83-year-old woman drowned in her car trapped in a flooded underpass; a Carabinieri officer's rescue attempt, who dived into the water, was unsuccessful.
In the Veneto region, the Fire Department has managed more than 100 firefighting operations for flooding and fallen trees, with the hardest-hit areas being Castelmassa (Rovigo), Vicenza, Creazzo (Vicenza), and the Portogruaro-San Michele al Tagliamento area. Around seventy requests are still pending. On Monte del Passo Staulanza, the Special Operations Group (GOS) and canine personnel are checking for possible burials of people or vehicles under the landslide.
Rome suffered several incidents: a tree fell on a car on Via Ardeatina, seriously injuring the driver, who was transported by Ares 118 with a red code. Furthermore, the FL4 (Rome-Castelli) and FL6 (Rome-Naples via Cassino) train lines were interrupted at Ciampino due to the rain, with replacement buses being activated. In Milan, the central atrium of the Palace of Justice was flooded due to a collapsed roof, leaving the building soaked.
Sports and other events suspended
The 50th edition of the Giro della Lunigiana was suspended in Cicagna (Genoa) due to the flooding of the Lavagna stream, which also caused flash floods in the Aveto stream. The mayor of San Colombano Certenoli, Claudio Solari, ordered the evacuation of schools, the closure of bridges and walkways, and the closure of playgrounds. The Civil Protection Department also issued a yellow alert for hydrogeological risks in the Veneto region, with warnings of heavy downpours, especially along the coast.
Impact on transport and public services
In addition to the rail closures, heavy rains caused widespread flooding in Trieste, where broken manhole covers and closed roads caused traffic disruptions and power outages. The Risiera di San Sabba was closed due to flooding. In the Velletri area, a 25-meter-tall pine tree was struck by lightning, setting fire to vegetation and requiring the intervention of firefighters.
In Lazio, more than 120 operations were carried out to remove fallen trees, telephone poles, and manage flooding, with particular attention to the Via della Stazione Aurelia area. In Latisana, Mayor Lanfranco Sette urged residents to limit travel, promised to declare a state of emergency, and mobilized civil defense, local police, and firefighters to respond to the emergencies.
The outcome of these events highlights how adverse weather conditions can quickly escalate into a health, environmental, and logistical emergency, involving multiple agencies—from firefighters to law enforcement, from railways to municipal administrations—in a coordinated, yet still severely tested, response.