Mid-August of African heat, then comes the turning point

Last hours of the African heat. Mid-August with lots of sun and very high temperatures from North to South, but from Sunday comes a first turning point that will pave the way for a decidedly more dynamic phase. Mattia Gussoni, meteorologist at iLMeteo.it confirms, for the day of August, the persistence of the great heat that has been keeping us company for several weeks now. This "fourth heat wave" has in fact continued without interruption, embracing the last ten days of July and this entire first half of August. The cause of this prolonged anomaly was the massive expansion of the subtropical anticyclone which, from North Africa, extended to a large part of the Mediterranean basin, pushing inexorably to the heart of Europe. The numbers speak for themselves: on Thursday 13 August temperatures reached 40°C again in many cities in France and up to 38°C in London. Data which is evidence of a truly anomalous and vast meteorological event on a continental scale, as well as yet another unequivocal sign of ongoing climate change, as we have repeatedly reiterated.

Something, however, is starting to move on the horizon. Starting from Sunday 16 August, the first storms triggered by an unstable front descending from Northern Europe will begin to hit our northern regions, bringing an initial and providential drop in temperatures. It will be the appetizer of a more general change: over the next week, in fact, further unstable impulses are expected which will definitively decree the end of this exhausting fourth heat wave. Let's not expect the end of summer, on the contrary, the season will continue without any particular problems (apart from strong but localized thunderstorms) but with temperatures this time more suited to the period and our latitudes.

IN DETAIL Saturday 15. In the North: sun and heat, afternoon thunderstorms in the central-western Alps. In the Center: sun and heat. In the South: thunderstorms in the mountains, intense in Sardinia.

Sunday 16. In the North: sun and heat, but thunderstorms in the Alps, Pre-Alps and places in the plains. In the Center: sun and heat, some showers in the mountains. In the South: prevailing sun.

Monday 17. In the North: thunderstorms especially in Veneto and Friuli. In the Center: possible showers. In the South: sunny, local rain in the mountains.