This is where the wave of bad weather that hit Sicily hard will move in the coming hours.
This morning, a violent wave of bad weather hit the high coast of the Catania region hard, between Acireale, Giarre and Riposto, where more than 500 mm of rain fell in less than 6 hours. As we mentioned in this article, the risk of seeing extreme weather events in Sicily was high and a red alert had been activated in recent days.
Ces 500 mm, or approximately 500 liters per square meter, in addition to the 800 mm that fell over the last 6 days, bringing the total to more than 1000 mm in 10 days. These are truly exceptional values, even for a region accustomed to extreme weather events, when eastern currents predominate.
On the high coast of the Catania region, between Acireale, Giarre and Riposto, more than 500 mm of rain fell in less than 6 hours. These 500 mm, or approximately 500 liters per square meter, are in addition to the 800 mm that fell over the last 6 days, bringing the total to more than 1000 mm in 10 days.
The causes of this extreme phenomenon
The violent storm which hit the Giarre region caused all the rivers to overflow, making roads and highways impassable. Several homes were also reported completely flooded in Altarello di Riposto, a small inhabited center south of Giarre.
The roads turned into raging torrents descending noisily towards the valley, sweeping away cars and overturning vans. Several underground passages are flooded and schools are closed in the province of Catania. Flooding is also affecting the Messina-Catania motorway section between Giarre and Fiumefreddo, where traffic has been interrupted.
Exceptional phenomenon
To understand the extent of this phenomenon, it is useful to compare these values with the region’s annual rainfall average, which is around 900 mm. This means that in less than two weeks, An amount of rain equal to or greater than that which normally accumulates in an entire year fell.
An event of this type is exceptional and rare, especially due to the persistence of precipitation and its intensity. The amount of rain that fell in 10 days exceeded the annual average, highlighting the absolutely extraordinary nature of this meteorological phase. Furthermore, such accumulations in such a short period represent a historical anomaly for the region, confirming the seriousness of this episode.
Consequences on the territory
Heavy rainfall inevitably caused inconvenience and significant damage, with flooding, landslides and traffic problems. Infrastructure and agricultural activities in the region have suffered significant impacts, with repercussions also on local communities.
In this context, it will be important to monitor weather developments in the coming weeks to avoid further damage and plan emergency interventions. In summary, the bad weather that hit Giarre and Riposto represents an “exceptional” meteorological event for this fall of 2024, already marked by numerous, perhaps too numerous, extreme weather events.
Developments for the next few hours
The last remaining rains are still affecting the coastal area of the Catania region, near the border with the province of Messina. But this is the last remnant of bad weather, which lasted more than a week in the region.
From the next few hours, and even more in the evening, we expect a general improvement in weather conditions, with the rotation of the surface winds to the libeccio, and therefore more from the sea, which will favor the dissipation of the low cloudiness and the associated rains, along the eastern slope of Etna.
Tomorrow the sun will shine on the Ionian coast of Sicily, while strong variability will be observed on the Tyrrhenian coasts of the island, with some scattered rain which will also reach Tyrrhenian Calabria between tomorrow and Friday. The weekend will mark the start of a period of stable, sunnier weather, with falling temperatures, but no precipitation.
