The night between Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 September left its mark on Tuscany, particularly on the central-southern belt, where a vast multicellular thunderstorm system crossed the region causing floods, disruptions, and intense wind gusts between the southern Livorno province and Grosseto.
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The Centro Meteo Toscana, on the morning of Thursday 10 September, released a detailed analysis that helps to understand the dynamics of the phenomenon.
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The night storm: what happened
Centro Meteo Toscana opens with a clear description of the event: “Stormy night with an immense multicellular thunderstorm system, that is a thunderstorm with many thunderstorm structures inside, which crossed the region, mainly affecting central-southern Tuscany and which we now find between Lazio and Grosseto where it is still bringing intense showers.” A multicellular system is among the most complex and violent configurations: multiple thunderstorm cells that regenerate and feed each other, creating intense rains and localized but very energetic phenomena.
Rainfall over 100 millimeters and record accumulations
Centro Meteo Toscana highlights how the precipitation was particularly abundant: “In terms of precipitation, this thunderstorm system brought the highest totals on the lower Livorno coast and Grosseto where in some areas we exceeded 100 millimeters.” A figure that alone would be enough to explain the numerous floods recorded between the southern Livorno province and Grosseto. The report of the last 24 hours confirms the scale of the event: “Many locations hit by thunderstorm showers and many areas already with totals equal to or greater than what would normally fall in the entire month of September,” Centro Meteo Toscana further explains. In other words, the rain of an entire month fell in just one night.
Damage and critical issues: hail, wind, and flooding
The bulletin does not hide the consequences of the thunderstorm passage: “Several damages are also reported due to both hail, as in Versilia, and strong wind, with Versilia and Grosseto as the areas most affected by downburst gusts, but also flooding in the areas of Massa and Grosseto and some areas of Fiorentino and Arezzo.” The downburst gusts, typical of the most intense thunderstorms, caused tree falls and damage to light structures. Despite this, meteorologists emphasize that, given the premises, “it could have been worse.”
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Drought now behind us
A significant part of the analysis concerns the state of water reserves: “After an August closed in many areas with rainfall above average, another such important contribution of millimeters in the first ten days – Centro Meteo Toscana further analyzes – puts an end to the drought in almost the entire region.” The rain that fell in recent weeks has therefore helped to rebalance a situation that, until mid-summer, was worrying.
And now? New showers in the afternoon
The most intense phase of the worsening has passed, but it is not yet time to dismiss the instability: “The most active and dangerous part of the worsening is behind us. However, on the afternoon of Thursday 10 September we will have the triggering of new thunderstorm showers moving from the sea towards the inland areas due to the still constant influx of cooler air descending from the Rhone valley.” Scattered showers with totals between 5 and 30 millimeters are expected “across the region,” but without indications of particularly dangerous phenomena.
Temperatures dropping: Sunday and Monday below 10 degrees
The analysis closes with a thermal focus: “The minimum temperatures have dropped but not too much, due to cloudiness and precipitation. The maximum temperatures will drop more sharply with values on Thursday 10 September between 23 and 26 degrees, that is 10 degrees less than two days ago, even more in the mountains.” The cool air arriving from France is clearly visible: “In France this morning we find minimums of 4-5-6 degrees and that cool air will continue to flow towards us, giving us a Sunday 13 and Monday 14 September morning with values that locally could drop below 10° degrees even in Tuscany.”
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