Extreme cold, snowstorms and gale force winds have caused traffic disruptions and school closures in several parts of Scandinavia. On Epiphany weekend there was bad weather in Italy with storms, wind, cold and snow
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The extreme cold from the Arctic region is affecting southern Sweden, where, according to Sveska Dagbladet, hundreds of cars on the E22 have been blocked by snow for more than ten hours. And a wave of storms and frost is also expected in Italy on Epiphany weekend.
The record of -43 degrees in Lapland
During the night the temperature in Kvikkjokk in Lapland fell to minus 43.6 °C: there had not been a similar frost in the country for 25 years. According to meteorologists, record temperatures will reach Stockholm on January 5th. Extreme cold, snowstorms and gale force winds have caused traffic disruptions and school closures in several parts of Scandinavia.
Vehicles are stuck on the E22
It is estimated that around a thousand vehicles were stuck on the E22 motorway in southern Sweden between Hörby and Kristiansand. Police urged trapped motorists to stay warm and not abandon their vehicles by walking away, and the army is joining in rescue efforts. But after almost 24 hours, impatience is growing: “I've been sitting here since yesterday morning at 10 o'clock,” explained Jimmie Andersson, one of the drivers who spoke to Swedish television SVT. “But a little hope is starting to arise, they.” “In front of us we start shoveling and the cars start moving.” Another driver reported that he had been stuck since 11:30 a.m.: “We have no food or water . Now I walked two kilometers up to my knees in snow to buy food for myself and my girlfriend, who was still in the car. The rescuers found it difficult to reach the area, but now they have the support of the army, which intervenes to clear the snow: “We have twelve tracked vehicles that are helping us at the moment.” And we will help the rescue services as long as they need it” said Andrea Wahlberg Scott, spokeswoman for the Swedish army.
Epiphany weekend with bad weather in Italy
According to the forecasts of Andrea Garbinato, editor-in-chief of the website www.iLMeteo.it, the Epiphany weekend in Italy promises to be characterized by bad weather with storms, wind, cold and snow. It seems that we will have the first signs of intensification with some showers as early as January 5th in the morning. The regions of Sardinia, Liguria and Upper Tuscany, and partly also Piedmont and Aosta Valley, will be affected. Arpal has issued a yellow warning particularly for the eastern coast of Liguria and forecasts strong winds with gusts of up to 70-80 km/h on the Ligurian coast and in the valleys of the Savona region on the western Ligurian coast and in the Genoese territory. In northern Italy, the front, combined with the low pressure at the Gulf of Lion, will drive the heaviest rainfall towards the entire northwest and then to the Triveneto from the afternoon onwards.
It snows even at hilly altitudes
It will snow in hilly elevations in Piedmont and at altitudes above 700-800 meters elsewhere. Towards the evening, the entire north will enter a particularly unsettled phase, with temperatures gradually falling. According to estimates by the Confcooperative, the trip of 7 million Italians planned for the Epiphany will therefore be a crash test in winter. In Tuscany, the regional civil protection operations center has issued a yellow code for hydrogeological and hydraulic risks of the smaller network, valid from 12 p.m. to midnight on January 5th. The sea will be very rough in the archipelago and in the Grosseto area. The areas affected by the bad weather are the northwestern ones: Lunigiana, Versilia, Valle del Serchio, Valli del Bisenzio, dell'Ombrone Pistoiese and del Reno.
Strong gusts of wind and heavy snowfall in Trentino
For the Befana, Saturday January 6, the website www.iLMeteo.it. forecast that the bad weather will spread across Italy, with strong gusts in Sardinia, Sicily, Puglia, the Tyrrhenian Sea coasts and the Alps. Strong winds in the rest of the country. It will snow heavily between Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli. On Sunday the cyclone will move towards the central Adriatic. Snowfall is expected in the Apennines and heavy rain in Emilia Romagna, the Marche and the lower Tyrrhenian Sea. The bad weather is expected by Coldiretti farmers, who, while worried about early flowering trees such as peach trees in Tuscany, stress that the arrival of rain and snow is saving Italy from drought after the first symptoms of water stress appeared .
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