BOLZANO. From scorching summer to winter, just like that, in the space of a few hours. In an instant, and we all noticed it, temperatures plummeted, the first snow fell on the mountains of the region and shorts, t-shirts and slippers quickly had to give way to sweaters, jackets and long socks. But what happened? “Masses of very cold air arrived from the north – explains the meteorologist of the Province, Dieter Peterlin – while from the south the depression of the Gulf of Genoa arrived, which brought precipitation. And so, we can undoubtedly say that the real summer, the one of 30 degrees to be clear, is definitely over. In these hours, the snow in Val Gardena, in Val Badia, in Alta Pusteria and, in general, in the Dolomite valleys, with a decreasing snow limit”.
The snow line will drop between today and tomorrow up to 1200 meters above sea level and therefore it could snow even at Brenner.
The same fairytale landscape, unusual for mid-September, can be found almost everywhere in Alto Adige today, in the eastern part up to 1,000 meters above sea level, in the rest of the province up to 1,200/1,500 meters. From Bolzano you can see the Catinaccio covered in snow. In the capital the temperature last night dropped to ten degrees, while a week ago the minimum was still close to 20 degrees. Today clouds will prevail with precipitation in the north, in particular in the Alta Valle Aurina. The snow line will be between 1,200 and 1,500 meters above sea level. Towards the south there will be no precipitation with strengthening northerly winds and rather low temperatures. Maximum temperatures between 10 degrees in Vipiteno and 19 in Bolzano.
It is natural to wonder how long this taste of winter will last. “Temperatures will remain below average, with snowfall along the border with North Tyrol, but they will start to rise again next week. But they will certainly not return to 30 degrees and the weather will be cool and windy.”
Since snowfall at this time of year is an exceptional event, the Agency for Civil Protection of the Province of Bolzano draws attention and invites caution, especially along the Brenner axis: “The vehicles are not yet equipped at this time of the year to face the winter season. For this reason, we call on the population’s attention not to travel unless strictly necessary, to possibly provide winter equipment, to prepare to face typical winter driving conditions”, underlines Diego Mantovani of the Provincial Functional Center Office.
By implementing these behaviors, the risk of accidents and interruptions to road traffic is significantly reduced. For this reason, the Provincial Functional Center has issued a warning for the day of Saturday 14th Septemberbased on the expected snowfall in the valley floor, a bulletin with a yellow alert (ordinary criticality with occasional danger to the safety of people) for the Alta Val d’Isarco area.
Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, the rain brought traffic in Bolzano to a standstill almost everywhere, for hours, with long queues, slowdowns and a lot of work for the municipal police.
2024-09-15 08:07:15