WeatherFanatics: Drenching Rain Comes to Italy, Southeast Europe

Monday, June 16, 2014

Drenching Rain Comes to Italy, Southeast Europe

By Evan Duffey, Meteorologist

June 16,2014; 8:25PM,EDT

While much of Italy has been dry so far this June, that is expected to change drastically through much of this week.
A storm system developing across the Mediterranean will bring rounds of rain and thunderstorms from central and northern Italy into southeast Europe.
Much of this region has only seen 25-50 percent of their normal precipitation over the past three weeks; however, up to a month's worth of rain will be possible through Friday.
Tuscany has been particularly dry this month. Florence, Italy, has only had 0.03 of an inch of rain on the month.
Cities at highest risk from this storm system include: Florence, Bologna, Genoa, Turin, Milan and Rome.
Rome was lashed by three rounds of thunderstorms from Sunday into Monday, bringing more than 4 inches (100 mm) of rain to the area.
In general, rainfall totals across much of central and northern Italy will average 2 inches (50 mm), with the heaviest rainfall totaling over 5 inches (125 mm).

Satellite image from Monday showing widespread clouds across southern Europe as rain and thunderstorm drench the region.
According to Accuweather.com Meteorologist Tyler Roys, flooding will be a concern. "Considering how dry the region has been as of late, the ground will struggle to absorb the expected amount of rainfall. Any location that has a quick inch or two of rain will need to be concerned with flash flooding."
"In the more mountainous areas, mudslides will certainly be a possibility", continued Roys.
Roys was also worried about river flooding. "The amount of rain expected may tax rivers by the end of the week. If any one region has too much rain, expect rivers to crest at or above flood stage."
While the soaking rain will bring plenty of negative impacts, crops struggling due the recent dry spell will have some recovery. Also, temperatures are running well above normal for many locations in the region this month. The storm will bring much cooler conditions to the relief of many.
Meteorologist Eric Leister contributed to this story.

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