We are facing a record-breaking unseasonal heat wave. The now famous African anticyclone Hannibal, which has been residing in a large part of the Mediterranean basin for a long time, does not give a break and today's atypical temperatures, Sunday 22 May, seem more like full summer than spring: 33-35° will be touched and various records could be set for the May. Furthermore, the temperatures will be accompanied by a high humidity rate, further increasing the discomfort in the population.
We are therefore preparing to experience the hottest phase of this unusual spring. Between Sunday and Monday the highest peaks will be reached on the Val padana, in the innermost areas of the Center and of the Sardinia, but also over a large part of the South, where the apex of the African heat will be felt above all between Monday and next Tuesday (peaks of 35-36°C in inland areas). These are values close to the absolute records of May, which for now belong to 2001 and 2003 and to the most recent 2009 when Milan and Bologna recorded 35°C, Verona 37°C.
From Tuesday everything changes: thunderstorms and wind
From 24 May things will change and thunderstorms are expected accompanied by hail and gusts of wind, with a really important temperature change (even of 13°). The consequences of the arrival of the depression are not yet clear but the most subject areas will certainly be the Alps, Pre-Alps and foothills, but subsequently some thunderstorms could also reach the Po Valley and the Central South (where, however, temperatures will remain high with maximum peaks up to at 35°C also in Rome and Florence), in particular the western sectors, but the serious water deficit affecting above all Northern Italy will not be resolved.
Record heat also in Spain, France and Germany
Our country is not alone in dealing with this record-breaking heat wave. In fact, the boiling air mass does not even spare northern Europe: the United Kingdom is touching very high temperatures by its standards. In Spain exceeded 40° in Seville, Cordoba and Andujar. Other records have been touched in France, in particular, Strasbourg which reached 35°C while in Germany the 33°C in Mundingen and the 32°C in Stuttgart and Munich make history, even if they slightly beat their previous records set in May. But it is the strong who worry the Germans hailstorms and tornadoes, like the one that hit the Paderborn (Lippstadt) area with roofs and sheds destroyed, thousands of trees downed and numerous injured.
