with videoNorthern Italy, Austria and Slovenia will endure ‘extremely dangerous’ storms. According to Estofex, a European organization that predicts severe weather, there is a risk of ‘gigantic hailstones and tornadoes’. The weather agency has issued a top-level warning for the area, which rarely happens.
Foreign editors
Latest update:
5:47 pm
In Legnano at Milan On Monday afternoon, three people were injured when their cars were hit by falling trees. This is reported by the Italian news agency Ansa. In Milan, several cars and part of the electricity grid were also damaged by severe storms. Firefighters even had to rescue a resident trapped in his flooded garage. Several roads are closed and public transport has been seriously disrupted, including ‘damage to Monza station’.
Also the Italian regions Varese and Brianza near the Swiss border were hit by a ‘bomb of water and wind’. The result was flooded streets, fallen trees and broken roofs. Especially in Lissone problems have been reported. Roads there turned into streams of water. And more storms were to come.
‘Suspected tornado’
Just before noon, the Swiss city was also La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura Mountains near the French border hit by severe weather. Shortly before noon, at least one person was killed and several injured when a tower crane blew over. The wind reached a speed of no less than 217 kilometers per hour, according to the Swiss weather service, which speaks of ‘a suspected tornado’.
Images shared on social media show strong winds and street furniture flying around. Several cars and houses were badly damaged.
New supercell
Shortly after 3 p.m., police issued a warning Neuchatel again for another ‘supercell’ of severe thunderstorms: “Stay in a sheltered place and avoid going outside as much as possible”, it sounded.
Austrian weatherman Manuel Oberhuber shared images of the devastation. He says it is not yet clear whether it was a tornado or a downwind (with a downwind, the wind can lead to eddies). However, according to the Swiss weather service, everything points in the direction of a tornado.
Manuel Oberhuber
@manu_oberhuber
Shortly before, the approaching storm had already been captured on video in the French municipality Montlebon, near the border with Switzerland. There too, the emergency services report a lot of damage, including to houses and roads.
Sapeurs Pompiers du Doubs Officiel
@sdis25
Large to very large hail balls
On a weather map released Monday morning, Estofex shows in purple where the heaviest storms are expected in the coming hours. In addition to northern Italy, Austria and Slovenia, the west of Slovakia and Hungary being hit by. “Get ready to take shelter when you’re in the purple area. Take this situation seriously,” warns French climate expert Nahel Belgherze.
Estofex expects the first supercells to develop over the Alps in the course of the afternoon. Large to very large hail balls in combination with strong winds cause a high damage potential in these types of storms.
Severe storm in the evening
In the course of the evening, the temperature will start to drop from the west, making it easier for the storm to move to lower areas. Then the heaviest storm is expected. “In some places there is a risk of very large (5 to 10 centimeters) to gigantic (greater than 10 centimeters) hail balls and extremely strong gusts of wind. The combination of the two can cause a lot of damage.”
Although the conditions are not ideal, some past cases show that “tornadoes and even strong tornadoes are also very possible,” said Estofex.
North-Italy the heavy storm was the first to pass. Since then they have continued to move east, via the northern Adriatic Sea towards Slovenia and/or northern Croatia. After that it would become quieter, but Italy in particular risks extra thunderstorms with hail during the night. “In addition to large hailstones, there is also a lot of rainwater locally and in the most extreme cases the wind can reach more than a hundred kilometers per hour,” said meteorologist Roosmarijn Knol of Weather plaza.
Lead heat
Italy has been groaning under a leaden heat for weeks. In recent days it has cooled down a bit in the far north of the country. That was also accompanied by severe thunderstorms.
For example, a tornado on Friday caused considerable damage in Lombardy, including near the city of Milan. In Treviso hailstones fell in the Veneto region were bigger than golf balls. Knol: “Last week a tornado was recorded near Milan and that could possibly occur again in the coming days with well-developed thunderstorms.”
center of gravity
Also in it south of France during the center of gravity in the night to Tuesday gusts of wind with peaks of up to 100 kilometers per hour are possible. “When you are lying on the beach in the south of France, the strong wind throws a spanner in the works of your day at the sea. Sailing boats also have to be prepared for gusty winds,” warns Knol.
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