Italy: After weeks of intense heat, thunderstorms and a drop in temperatures are on the way.

After a prolonged period of intense heat and humidity, Italy is bracing for a change in weather with the arrival of the first thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are expected as early as today, Sunday, August 16, across the Alps, Prealps, and adjacent northern plains, marking a first turning point in the national weather pattern.

In the afternoon, showers will also extend to the mountains of central and southern Italy, while the rest of the country will maintain conditions with more clearings and temperatures still above the seasonal average.

According to meteorologists, a low-pressure system will affect northern Italy on Monday, August 17th, bringing severe thunderstorms, particularly across eastern Liguria, the Alps, the Prealps, and the plains of Lombardy, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. During the evening, precipitation will also reach parts of central and southern Italy. The following Tuesday and Wednesday will see an improvement, with sunny skies and a general drop in temperatures, which will return to seasonal averages.

However, the respite will be short-lived: from the second half of the week, starting Thursday, August 20, new widespread thunderstorms are expected, especially in central and northern Italy, along with a further drop in temperatures that will definitively put an end to the oppressive heat that has characterized the last few weeks.

Specifically, today in the North, sunny and warm weather is expected with thunderstorms in the Alps, Prealps, and some lowland areas; in Central Italy, sunny and warm weather with some showers in the mountains; and in the South, mostly sunny weather. On Monday, thunderstorms will be more widespread in the North, especially in eastern Lombardy and the Northeast, while showers are possible in Central Italy, and sunny weather will prevail in the South, with occasional rain showers in the mountains. Tuesday will be sunny in the North, sunny in Central Italy, and some unstable weather in the Apennines and surrounding areas, while thunderstorms will affect the mountains in the South, with sunny weather elsewhere.