extreme turnaround and late arctic saber strike –

Father’s Day with some showers on the Adriatic side and in the South, but in the name of improvement. Lorenzo Tedici, meteorologist at iLMeteo.it, confirms that the anniversary of March 19, 2024 will be marked by some rainy mischief, but also by an anticyclonic comeback. The increase in pressure from North Africa will push away the rapid disturbance arriving from France: the last rains are expected in the morning between Marche and Puglia, locally also in Campania, Basilicata and Calabria; from the followingnoon isolated thunderstorms close to the southern mountains cannot be ruled out, but a sunny but pleasant phase will begin. The high pressure will, in fact, try to expand over the Central Mediterranean, giving greater atmospheric stability across Italy at least until Thursday the 21st; temperatures are also expected to increase significantly, especially in the maximum values.

This improvement will arrive punctually with the start of Spring: this year the Equinox falls at 4.06am on Wednesday 20 March and all of Italy will see the spring swallows fluttering in a blue sky. Only between Calabria and Sicily will the flight be disturbed by a few more clouds. But following the peaceful Equinox double and sunny March 21st, we will once once more enter a more unstable phase. In fact, between Thursday 21st night and Friday 22nd, an unstable air mass transiting over the Balkans will cause some local showers towards our south. The weather will then worsen even more over the Palm weekend with the return of snow up to 900 meters above sea level also in the central regions.

The real risk, especially on Sunday, is to find ourselves faced with an extreme reversal. There is fear of a ‘Late Arctic Saber Strike’, a deep and very narrow pocket filled with freezing air descending directly from the Norwegian Polar Circle. If this collapse materializes, as currently predicted by meteorological models, there will be a drop in temperatures of at least 10 degrees from North to South, the return of snow on the Apennines up to 900 meters above sea level and very strong winds throughout the country. Already on Saturday, among other things, there might be a risk of storms in the Po Valley with snowfall in the Alps down to low altitudes for the period. In summary, a winter tailspin just 3 days following the start of Spring.