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🇮🇹 Italy /Disasters & Emergencies

The last heatwave: Rain and cooler temperatures arrive Wednesday

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Italy is expected to see a major shift from above-average temperatures to cooler air and rain beginning Wednesday, Sept. 9, with northern regions likely to feel the change from Tuesday.
  • Storms could bring strong winds and hail across parts of central and southern Italy through Friday, while forecasts still allow for another warm spell later in September.
  • Early assessments suggest summer 2026 may rival or surpass the 2003 record as Italy’s hottest summer, although meteorologists said the comparison remains pending.

Italy’s long, exceptionally hot summer is approaching its breaking point. The next two days could be the last with temperatures above average before cooler air and rain arrive from Wednesday.

“This is a substantial change from what we have seen so far,” said Bernado Gozzini, director of the Lamma consortium of Italy’s National Research Council. He said a more dynamic atmospheric circulation, triggered by an Atlantic disturbance, would bring a low-pressure system first toward Britain and France and then into Italy.

This is a substantial change from what we have seen so far.

· Bernado GozziniThe Lamma director described the expected shift from prolonged heat to cooler, unsettled weather.

Northern regions could see the first signs on Tuesday, with cooler temperatures and instability around the Alps, especially in Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto. On Wednesday, unstable conditions are expected across central and northern Italy, from Lazio northward, as cold air at high altitude collides with the heat accumulated so far. “Intense thunderstorms are expected, and strong winds and hail cannot be ruled out,” Gozzini said. “It will be a situation to follow in each region.”

Intense thunderstorms are expected, and strong winds and hail cannot be ruled out.

· Bernado GozziniHe warned about severe weather as cold air meets the heat accumulated over Italy.

The disturbance is expected to reach the Tyrrhenian and southern regions on Thursday, particularly Sicily, Campania, Puglia and Calabria. Bad weather will continue in central areas including Lazio, Tuscany and Marche, while some sunshine may return to Piedmont and Lombardy. Residual storms are forecast on Friday and through the following weekend in southern areas, including Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata.

Gozzini said the substantial change could last until mid-September, but he cautioned that late September could still bring temperatures above 30 degrees. Meteorologist Andrea Giuliacci agreed that typically summer-like days remain possible in the second half of the month, even as disturbances begin crossing the country more regularly. Early analyses also suggest that 2026 may have challenged the record set by the summer of 2003, still considered Italy’s hottest. “We will know shortly,” Giuliacci said.

We will know shortly.

· Andrea GiuliacciThe Meteo.it meteorologist discussed whether summer 2026 had surpassed the 2003 heat record.
About this summary

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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