The curtain is about to fall on the anticyclonic weather of this late December in much of Europe. Big news is announced for the beginning of 2025. The cold season is entering its peak, with a descent of Arctic air that will displace the anticyclone and spread over parts of Europe. The severe cold will also take center stage in North America.
These dynamics are linked to the weakness of the Polar Vortex.
The change in setup on the European Continent will see the anticyclone moving and rising over the North Atlantic, while a vast cold Scandinavian depression will expand to mid-latitudes. Very cold Arctic currents will hit much of Central-Northern Europe starting from January 2-3.
This cold air will then deviate towards the Balkans and Eastern Europe, driven by northwesterly currents. There will be no conditions for a decisive entry of the cold towards the Mediterranean. Italy will therefore be on the margins of the strong cooling that will instead involve much of the Continent.
This cold in Europe will not last long, as there will then be a break in the high-pressure block and the entry of a robust Atlantic depression close to the British Isles.
It won’t be a cold and snowy Epiphany, the real Winter is yet to come
The flow of humid oceanic currents, interacting with the very cold Arctic air, will probably produce favorable conditions for snowfall down to the plains in various Central European states.
These snowfalls are expected in an initial phase around January 5, then milder air will take over. What should we expect in Italy? As mentioned, our Peninsula will be marginally affected by the Arctic cold and milder Atlantic air will arrive over the weekend, hand in hand with the rise of the subtropical anticyclone.
Winter will therefore make a definite retreat. In general, we will only have an initial drop in temperatures around January 3-4 accompanied by light snow on the hills.
During the Epiphany weekend, temperatures will rise and go above average, especially in the Center-South, where the impact of southwesterly winds will be more evident. The intense cold will be longed for, but perhaps not too much.
The icy dynamics in the European sector will reappear and then involve Italy.
Some projections from Weather Centers see a sharp cooling around January 9-10, but there is great uncertainty about the evolution.
Follow our feed
