Italy in the freezer. Very cold weather: -23 degrees in Florence, -30 degrees in the Po Valley. Then widespread snow

Fans of weather forecast will always remember the exceptional winter of January 1985when an extreme cold wave, considered among the most significant in Italian meteorological history, hit the country, especially the Northern Italy and the internal areas of theCentral Italy. Temperatures reached historic levels, with minimum values ​​approaching -30°C in some areas of Po Valley e -23°C a Firenze. The intense snowfalls that followed the frost completed the picture of an atmospheric event that was memorable for its extent and intensity, accompanying the news of those days with extraordinary scenarios and extreme temperatures.

The beginning of the cold wave: the first days of January 1985

The frost wave of January 1985 began with the entry of arctic air between the 4 and 5 Januaryleading to a marked drop in temperatures in much of the North East, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria e Marche. It was an Arctic irruption of great impact, with the firsts snowfall on the plains and the collapse of highs, which remained below zero for the first time in numerous Italian cities.

In this initial phase, temperatures in several locations recorded impressive minimum values: Bolzano -5°C, Torino -7°C, Wedge -8°C, Milano -6°C, Bologna -7°C, Genova -2°C, e Firenze -3°C. This intense cold struck the most Nord and the Central Italywhile al Southern Italy temperatures remained higher, with maximum temperatures still higher than 15°C in some areas, such as Reggio Calabria which recorded well 15°C.

The rigid mountain temperatures and the widespread cold in Europe

The Alpine and Apennine peaks, often protagonists in situations of frost, saw extreme thermal collapses: the Rolle Pass sign -19,9°Cil Mount Paganella -21,4°C and the Mount Cimone -20°C. Even at a European level, the cold wave made its effects felt, with freezing temperatures: Helsinki register -24°C, Mosca touched i -20°C, Warsaw -14°Cwhile in the cities of central and northern Europe the negative values ​​spread with wide intensity, as Paris con -8°C e Frankfurt con -12°C.

Historic frost on January 11-12: unprecedented lows

Subsequently, on January 11 and 12, the lowest temperatures of that cold event, and perhaps of the entire post-war period, occurred. After the snowfalls of January 8 and 9, the cold air stabilized, creating ideal conditions for the so-called “albedo effect”: the snow on the ground reflected solar radiation, keeping temperatures incredibly low for several consecutive days. In many places historic lows were reached, never recorded until then.

Among the most significant temperatures of those days were recorded -19,4°C a Ferrara, -19,0°C a Piacenza, -18°C a Forlì e Riminie -21,4°C a Firenzewhere the minimum temperature reached i -23°C. In Tuscanythis value remains one of the absolute cold records. There Fucino plain nell’Abruzzo marked the dramatic record of -26,5°Crepresenting one of the coldest points of that winter.

The historic lows of January 12th: Italy in the freezer

On January 12, 1985, a series of Italian locations recorded unparalleled lows, in particular at Northern Italy and in the internal valleys ofCentral Italy. The thermometer dropped to -18,7°C a Ferrara, -18,4°C a Piacenza e Brescia, -19°C in some areas of the plain, while in Central Italy extremely rigid values ​​were reached, such as i -26,5°C in the Fucino plaini -22°C a The Eagle hey -20°C a Rieti. These values ​​were a point of reference for subsequent winters, difficult to reach even in the cold episodes of February 2012.

Urban centers were also affected by the cold wave: Milano touched i -14°C, Torino e Wedge recorded respectively -13°C e -8°CWhile Venezia e Padova they went down to -15°C. The cold also extended to the Southern Italywhere locations like Napoli they saw temperatures of -2°CWhile Power e Campobasso they went down to -9°C e -6°C.

The intense snow following the cold wave

At the end of these days of record frost, the arrival of new disturbances brought abundant ones snowfall al Northern Italy. Between the January 13th and 14than intense wave of precipitation covered the main northern cities and parts of the central regions with snow. City like Milano, Torino, Bologna e Venezia they were covered by an exceptional snow cover, which gave an almost surreal appearance to the cities and countryside.

The winter of 1985 It therefore remains in the Italian meteorological memory as one of the most extreme periods of recent decades, with frost and snow conditions that set records that are difficult to replicate. Italy found itself in the natural “freezer” of an exceptional Arctic wave, which remained imprinted in the news for its extraordinary characteristics and for its ability to cover vast areas of the country with snow, from Northern Italy until Center and partly also to Sud.