“Very violent storm passing over central-northern Tuscany. Be extremely careful due to wind and torrential rain,” said the Centro Meteo Toscana around 9 tonight, Thursday, August 20, with Tuscany already facing the first damages and inconveniences from the severe weather (from 10 PM on Thursday, August 20, we remind you, an orange alert is in effect for many provinces, with some events already postponed).
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The bad weather should – according to weather forecasts – show its most intense part on the morning of Friday, August 21.
Fi-Pi-Li Chaos
On the evening of August 20, significant disruptions were reported along the Fi-Pi-Li, especially in the Empolese stretch and between Pontedera and Ponsacco heading towards the sea due to heavy rain and wind; branches on the roadway between Pontedera and Ponsacco were also reported – in the social group of reference for users of the Major Communication Road, “I Dannati della Fipili”.
A “chaos” as described by various drivers, with flooding also between Livorno and Vicarello heading towards Florence. All this with inevitable repercussions on traffic, which was thus paralyzed or nearly so in many stretches, with branches reported – as well as various floods – also in Cascina and Santa Croce. The situation was resolving hours later late Thursday evening: firefighters and law enforcement intervened on site.
Flooding and Disruptions
Also on the evening of August 20, flooding was reported in Livorno city around 9 PM and thunderstorms hit the Pisa area, the Livorno area, and the northwest part of the region, with fallen trees in Lunigiana, upper Versilia, and Viareggio.
Then, as we will see, shortly before 10 PM, the severe weather targeted central Tuscany. From around 10 PM, the southern areas of the Livorno province were affected.
Many areas, in various provinces, also reported power outages.
Lamma Situation Update
Later in the evening, a first update arrived from the Consorzio Lamma: “A series of thunderstorm systems is affecting the central-northern coast, particularly the upper province of Livorno and upper Pisa area. Heavy downpours and numerous lightning strikes also in the province of Lucca. Recorded up to 26 mm in 15 minutes in the province of Pisa (Coltano) and gusts of almost 110 km/h at Bocca d’Arno (Pisa).”
“Between 9 and 10 PM, the front present inland will quickly move towards the provinces of Pistoia, Florence, and Prato, while the systems at sea will again reach the coast.”
The Mayor of Pescia
The 10 PM Update
“Ongoing interventions by the Tuscany Civil Protection system for some trees fallen due to strong wind with gusts of 103 km/h in Montespertoli. Part of the stadium wall collapsed in Pescia. Active thunderstorm system over the provinces of Pisa, Livorno, part of Florence up to Mugello,” explained the Regional President Eugenio Giani.
In Valdinievole, besides the collapsed wall in Pescia near the stadium, fallen trees in Ricciano; in Montecatini, traffic gridlock along Viale Bustichini due to a fallen tree.
Here Pisa Airport
Some problems, moreover, in Pisa, at the airport due to the bad weather, especially the strong wind. A British Airways flight from London diverted to Malpensa, from where it will depart for Galilei; a Wizz Air flight from Warsaw diverted to Bologna; Ryanair flights arriving tonight from Brussels, Barcelona, Krakow, and Warsaw rescheduled. Almost all departing flights rescheduled, at least seven from 8 PM, with delays up to two hours. A DHL cargo plane was also diverted to Milan.
The 10:30 PM CMT Update
“Pre-frontal storm passed over the region with significant damage caused by wind gusts. Many interventions by firefighters due to fallen trees with impassable roads and several cities without power. Regarding rain, peaks of 65 mm on the Apuan Alps and central-northern Tuscany with totals between 10 and 60 mm,” write the Centro Meteo Toscana.
“The pre-frontal storm is now moving towards the Grosseto area (where strong phenomena are expected) and Emilia,” they explain.
And they report: “Despite the current temperature drop, if we look towards the Balearic Islands we already see the second front, more organized, expected for tomorrow morning. Consequently, new strong thunderstorms with violent wind gusts and downpours are expected tomorrow morning starting from the coast and moving eastward. Impact expected on the Tuscan coast between 6 AM and 10 AM. Only after that can we start to think about milder phenomena.”
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The Lamma Consortium Late Evening Report
- Lightning strikes: from 11 AM to 11 PM on August 20, over 23,000 lightning strikes were recorded in Tuscany, of which more than 8,000 occurred between 9 and 11 PM.
- Precipitation: in 12 hours, totals up to 60-70 mm in the provinces of Massa Carrara, Lucca, and Grosseto, 40-50 mm in Siena, Pisa, and Livorno.
- Wind: gusts recorded up to 106 km/h on the Pisa coast, 103 km/h in the province of Florence, 93 km/h on Gorgona, 92 km/h in Viareggio, and 86 km/h in Arezzo.