Gale force winds, rain and storms sweep Italy over Easter holidays

If you were planning to spend time in the great outdoors this week over the Easter holidays, you might need to rethink your plans.

Many Italians taking extended holidays this week had to cancel traditional countryside barbecues and outdoor picnics for Pasquetta, or Easter Monday, as unusually high winds battered the country.

After days of spring sunshine in most areas, the temperature plunged on April 22 and eight regions were placed on amber alert as high winds disrupted holiday plans, with the wind particularly high on islands like Sardinia and Capri.

Gale force winds, rain and storms are predicted to continue across much of the country until Thursday 25th, Liberation Day, which is a state holiday here in Italy.

A Mediterranean cyclone advancing from North Africa towards the south of Sardinia is bringing with it "a heavy load of rain, storms and hail, and even snow in the mountains", writes ilmeteo.it.

Heavy rain and storms are predicted today in every central-northern region. There's a good chance of thunderstorms and even hail in Rome, Lazio, Tuscany and Le Marche.

High winds have also been battering southern regions, whch are under a thick blanket of cloud and fog, and there's a threat of thunderstorms later in Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria.

Overnight the weather is expected to worsen in the north, with rain and storms in Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont, Lombardy and the Alps, where snow is expected at about 1,500 meters.

The sudden wave of bad weather is expected to clear up towards the weekend, with sunshine returning to the south from the 25th, before winds later die down in the north.

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