A water bomb on Milan recorded 40 millimeters of rain in three hours, from 11pm to 2am. Among the most affected areas, the districts of Isola-Maggiolina, Città Studi and the Navigli. The whole province of Milan and also many areas of Lombardy were hit by the violent storm: the record in Cremona, with 85 millimeters (equal to the average rainfall recorded in a summer month). Several problems also in the North-West area of Milan, in particular in Corbetta, where there have been several flooding of basements and cellars.
About twenty interventions by the firefighters during the night in the Lombard capital, while on Wednesday morning the firefighters are at work in the streets for fallen trees and flooding in the houses. According to the weather forecast, the next few hours will be characterized by partly cloudy skies with the possibility of new rainfall tomorrow.
“They are summer storms that develop in a short time and in a limited space – explains Mattia Gussoni, meteorologist of ilMeteo.it – Since yesterday there was a great potential energy at play, humid heat and sultriness, these are the fuel feed the summer storms. These events are difficult to predict, especially with respect to their precise location. In three hours, as much water fell in the center of Milan as is normally recorded in the first two weeks of July combined».
Also in the province of Varese a strong perturbation hit starting just before midnight on Tuesday, and from the south it ascended the entire territory causing damage especially in the north of the province. The firefighters of the Laveno Mombello detachment were busy during the night due to several requests for plant cuts caused by the strong wind. A dozen interventions to free up the road system in the municipalities of Luino, Montegrino Valtravaglia, and Lavena Ponte Tresa: the strip between Upper Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano has been affected. The Pre-Alpine Geophysical Center forecasts “cumulus clouds along the hills with thunderstorms over the Alps and Pre-Alps, but rarely in the plains” for Wednesday afternoon; similar weather for Thursday, then improves in the following days.
The wave of bad weather that hit Lombardy during the night also caused major damage in the Lecco area. Due to the violent storms that caused landslides and flooding, the small towns of Introzzo and Tremenico, in Valvarrone, remained isolated for a few hours. Five brigade teams from the Bellano and Valmadrera detachment intervened on the spot: the firefighters managed to reach the area on foot, providing first aid to the population. Rescued a motorist who had been stuck between two landslides along provincial road 67 in Tremenico.
Fear also in Dervio where the flooding of the Varrone torrent has overwhelmed some construction site vehicles, engaged in the reconstruction of the embankments. Except for the town, which instead had been completely evacuated in 2019, after the timber in the Varrone had created a dam at the railway bridge. «The flood was contained thanks to the upstream defense works recently carried out – explains the mayor of Dervio Stefano Cassinelli -. They have been tested in the most dramatic way.” Around 7 on Wednesday morning the main roads of Valvarrone were reopened: the technicians of the municipalities involved are carrying out inspections to check for damage.