The long-awaited snow has already arrived, in the night between Thursday and Friday, bringing with it a second wave of frost that is affecting the whole peninsula and which will bring temperatures even at sea level to drop well below zero over the weekend. In particular, so far the snow has fallen throughout the Centre-North, including the flat areas. Particularly abundant snowfalls on the Adriatic side between Romagna and Abruzzo, where real storms are breaking down. The cold also continues to reap victims: a homeless woman was found dead in Rome (she is the sixth victim in Lazio), while deaths are also recorded in Turin and Cagliari. Circulation at risk: over 1.300 km of roads have already been whitewashed.
HIGHWAYS AND TRUCK BLOCK - The prefects blocked the circulation of heavy vehicles (with a mass exceeding 7,5 tons) in numerous provinces of the Center and starting from 6 am on Friday for all 5 provinces of Lazio. The alarm goes off on the motorways, from North to South: the company Autostrade per l'Italia has already communicated that large sections of the road network could be difficult to navigate due to snowfall commencing in the night and increasing throughout the day on Friday. The snow will concentrate in particular on the north-east, and on the eastern side of the Centre, above all Emilia and the Adriatic area. Therefore the motorways most at risk are the A1 in the sections between Milan and Barberino, between Fabro and Orte and between Anagni and Ceprano; the A14 Bologna-Taranto, between Bologna and Val di Sangro; the A26 Genova Voltri-Gravellona Toce, between Genoa and the connection with the Stroppiana-Santhià branch.
ROME - Following complaints from citizens, the Capital Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation file in relation to the inconvenience linked to last week's wave of snow and frost. Meanwhile, the mayor Alemanno, in the eye of the storm for the poor management of the emergency, has ordered the school closures on Fridays and Saturdays and also that from 6 am on Friday 10 February to midnight on Saturday 11 February it is mandatory to drive with chains on board throughout the city. ”The prediction of the Civil Protection is 30 centimeters of snow in Rome“, said the mayor after meeting the prefect Franco Gabrielli. "The wave of bad weather should end on Saturday at lunchtime," concluded Alemanno. After an afternoon of rain alternating with sleet, a thick snow fell on the capital in the evening. Meanwhile, the former head of the department, Guido Bertolaso, also intervened on the controversy between the mayor and the civil protection: "In the capital childish diatribes".
TRAINS- Preventive suspension in twelve regions, in the lines considered at risk: the greatest disruptions are expected in Lazio, Marche and Campania. On the whole, circulation on the national railway network is reported to be regular, even if commuter travel will be really difficult, in some regions. Trenitalia in fact, to avoid the chaos and inconvenience of last week, has decided to stop traffic in advance on some routes that had already suffered. Here are the firm lines, region by region: Piemonte: lCuneo–Mondovì, Cuneo–Savigliano and Ceva-Ormea; Veneto: Scala Island–Legnago–Rovigo; Friuli Venezia Giulia: Portogruaro–Casarsa del Friuli, Sacile -Gemona; Umbria: Terni–Rieti-L'Aquila–Sulmona; Market: Terni–Rieti-L'Aquila–Sulmona, Civitanova Marche-Albacina, Ascoli –Port of Ascoli, Fabriano-Pergola; Lazio: Terni–Rieti-L'Aquila–Sulmona, Tivoli–Avezzano–Sulmona, Roccasecca–Avezzano, Ciampino–Cassino, Cesano-Viterbo-Attigliano; Abruzzo: Sulmona-L'Aquila-Rieti-Terni, Giulianova–Teramo, Sulmona–Avezzano–Tivoli, Avezzano–Roccasecca; Molise: Termoli–Venafro; Campania: Battipaglia-Potenza, Boscoredole –Benevento–Avellino–San Severino Market-Salerno, San Severino Market–Salerno-Sarno, San Severino Market–Salerno–Nocera Inferiore; Puglia: Cervaro–Potenza, Barletta–Spinazzola, Rocchetta–Gioia del Colle; Basilicata: Potenza–Cervaro; Calabria: Sibari–Cosenza.
PLANES - Enac communicated that they were "snow plans activated in all the airports involved, or potentially interested, in the new wave of bad weather”. Rimini airport, which had been closed due to heavy snowfall and strong gusts of wind, reopened at noon. Difficulties also in Perugia, Pescara and Ancona, while all the other airports in the country are fully operational, including Linate which, however, reported some inconvenience in the morning. Alitalia has announced that it has canceled 12 flights between Milan and Rome.
CIVIL PROTECTION - Prime Minister Mario Monti has meanwhile confirmed the trust in the head of civil protection Franco Gabrielli: on Wednesday he signed a decree in which he assigns the "coordination of interventions" and "the adoption of every indispensable measure" to the prefect. Gabrielli, as per the regulation, in turn convened an operating committee with the local authorities where he asked "to prepare preventive measures immediately" to minimize the inconvenience for citizens.
METEO - Thursday allowed a brief respite in terms of rainfall, even if the minimum temperatures continue to be polar: Milan -6, Florence -6, Turin -8, Rome -4, Bologna -12. From Friday to Sunday, snow and frost are expected throughout Italy, and also the maximum temperatures will return to below or around freezing in the big cities. The regions most affected by the snowfall will be Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo.
EUROPE – The death toll from the cold across the continent is increasingly tragic: with yesterday we arrived at over 500 dead, according to the data which however remain partial. The most affected country is always theUkraine with 136 victims, 46 in Russia, 74 in Poland, 41 in Romania, 16 in Hungary, 28 in Bulgaria, 12 in Serbia, 24 in the Czech Republic and also, among others, 4 in Germany and 5 in France. In Italy the count has reached 52.
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