Edoardo Ferrara of 3bmeteo: “The protagonist of this dramatic event was an unusually intense Mediterranean cyclone for the month of May”
Wave of exceptional bad weather in Emilia Romagna and Marche. “The protagonist of this dramatic event was an unusually intense Mediterranean cyclone for the month of May – he explains the meteorologist of 3bmeteo.com Edoardo Ferrara, which continues – born on the coasts of North Africa, the cyclone then sailed up our peninsula from the south starting from Sicily, where, moreover, last Monday it generated intense storms with flooding. The considerable potential of this cyclone had in fact already been expressed on the island: in fact, up to 100mm of rain had fallen in the Palermo area, or four times the average for the entire month of May. During Tuesday the vortex also affected central-northern Italy more directly, but eastern Emilia and Romagna found themselves in the most dramatically disadvantaged position. In fact, the perturbation was already quite violent with vigorous rains (peaks of over 80 mm even in the upper Marches), but once it reached Emilia Romagna the rainfall was further exacerbated by the so-called ‘stau effect'”.
“Specifically, the north-east winds, rich in humidity, collided with the Apennine spur, discharging large quantities of rain constantly in the same areas. Various aggravating factors were added to this situation: the cyclone practically stopped once it reached the Central Italy, thus prolonging the bad weather; the strong bora winds on the coast with rough seas also hindered the outflow of water from the Apennines towards the Adriatic; the land was already soaked in water due to the flood that lasted just two weeks it always does in the same area and with causes quite similar to the current ones.”
Source-www.adnkronos.com