The much-anticipated weekend with decidedly winter-like weather and falling temperatures is arriving.
The temperature drop will allow the arrival of snow down to low altitudes, even with the contribution of more intense than expected precipitation linked to an explosive cyclonic vortex. The low-pressure area, fueled by cold polar air, will deepen over Italy already during Saturday, the 7th.
In addition to rain, thunderstorms, and gale-force winds, snow will also return.
The closer proximity to the event allows us to go into more detail, especially on how the expected snow will be distributed. We are particularly closely observing what could happen in Northern Italy where snow will locally push down to low altitudes.
The position of the low that will carve out over the Italian seas is not yet fully defined, and from this will depend the evolution that may undergo variations in local detail. The latest updates place us in front of a increase in the extent of precipitation in the North, due to the higher position of the low.
The severe worsening will begin to manifest from the afternoon-evening of Saturday, December 7th, with the snow level starting to drop rapidly towards the end of the day. The snow limit will drop to around 1300-2000 feet in some pre-Alpine areas of Piedmont and generally where the precipitation will be more intense.
In the presence of stronger precipitation, some flakes or snow showers are not excluded, even brushing or reaching the plains.
Watch out for surprises in the plains and lots of snow in the Northern Apennines
Among the areas where mixed precipitation or local snowflakes could brush the plains, we highlight the Pavese, Piacentino, Parmense, the Ligurian hinterland of the Po Valley, and part of Southern Piedmont. These will be the areas where cold air at the surface will combine with precipitation and also cold at altitude. During Sunday, the 8th, precipitation seems to persist longer than expected in the Northeast and Emilia Romagna, extending more pronouncedly to the entire Lower Piedmont and Liguria.
There is a possibility that snow will still fall at very low altitudes, close to the plains, in Western Emilia. In general, during Sunday, up to 16-24 inches of fresh snow may fall in the Eastern Alps and Northern Apennines, with even higher peaks on the Emilian slopes.
Snow accumulations of up to 8-12 inches are locally expected in the central sectors of the Apennine ridge. Snow will also cover the Gennargentu in Sardinia, with possible accumulations of 12 inches or more above 3600 feet. Snowfalls will be less abundant in the rest of the Apennines, also because throughout the South the snow level will remain much higher.
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