Heavy Rain, Snow to Affect Italy and Balkans

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

February 4,2015; 8:47PM,EST

 

 

Unsettled weather will be the theme across southern Europe much of the week as a system slowly tracks from Spain and Portugal through Italy and into the Balkan Peninsula.
The storm is tracked across the Iberian Peninsula early this week and then into the Mediterranean Sea by Wednesday, spreading rain and snow over the region along its way. While accumulating snowfall was limited to the higher terrain surrounding Madrid, some snowflakes fell in the city Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
"For parts of northern parts of the Meseta Central, this is the coldest stretch of weather all winter," said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
"People should watch out for icy spots in areas that typically don't see snow."

Snow also fell farther south across the Sierra Nevada, just inland from the Mediterranean coastline in southern Spain and across the Mediterranean in the mountains of northern Algeria and Morocco.
This rain and snow can lead to more flooding issues, particularly near the Ebro River in Spain. This river has experienced flooding from recent storms that impacted the area.
"The Ebro River will have flooding issues through most of this week," said Roys.
On Wednesday, heavy rains caused a landslide at the ancient Italian site of Pompeii, the Associated Press reported. No injuries were reported as the site was already closed to the public according to the AP.
A landslide due to heavy rains is seen in the ancient site of Pompeii, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. The ancient site of Pompeii has suffered a landslide due to heavy rains, causing a retaining wall and garden at the house of Severus to partially collapse. (AP Photo/Cesare Abbate, Ansa)
Some of the rain and snow will reach into the Balkans by Wednesday, but the bulk of the storm will focus on areas from Spain to Italy. The Balkans can expect the worst weather to impact the region from Thursday into Friday.
Heavy mountain snow can be expected over the Apennie Mountains in Italy as well as the Italian Alps and Dinaric Alps from Wednesday night into Friday. The heaviest snow could pile up 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) from northern Bosnia and Herzegovina into Croatia, Slovenia and southern Austria. Major cities impacted by the heaviest snowfall include Zagreb in Croatia and Ljubljana in Slovenia.
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Some snow will even fall in the lower elevations of northern Italy, such as Milan where several inches are possible late Thursday into Friday.
Where milder air prevails much as 25-50 mm of rain is forecast to fall along the west coast of Italy, including cities such as Rome and Naples.
By this weekend, the core of the storm will be over the Balkans where the storm will bring light snow and rain to the entire region. Accumulating snow is expected in Bucharest, Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Budapest.
Showers will linger across central Italy over the weekend, but the threat for any significant precipitation will end by Friday night.
Meteorologist Brian Lada contributed to this story.