Storm Ernest brings flooding rain, ‘extreme’ snow as more storms target southern Europe
By
Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist &
Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 7, 2020 2:11 PM EDT
|
Updated Dec 10, 2020 5:32 PM EDT
As snow builds in the mountains and flooding issues develop across southern Europe in the wake of Storm Ernest, AccuWeather forecasters are already monitoring the next round of rain and snow for the region.
Additional rounds of heavy rain and snow are set to strike western and southern Europe this week after an already active start to December.
On the heels of several storms that brought flooding rainfall, heavy snow and strong winds to southern and western Europe, at least three more rounds of rain and wind are expected this week.
Since the start of December, an active storm track has brought impactful storm systems to the region, including one from late last week and into the weekend that dropped up to 790 mm (31 inches) of rain during a 72-hour period across northeastern Italy.
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The storm over the weekend also brought heavy snow to the higher terrain of Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy. APNews reported that several communities in the Australian Alps put coronavirus testing on hold after 70 cm (27.5 inches) of snow fell overnight Friday into Saturday. A total of 61 inches of snow was reported at Kredarica Mountain in Slovenia.
Due to the storm, the International Ski Federation postponed the men's and women's Giant Slalom race at Santa Caterina Valfurva that was set to take place over the weekend.
Another storm slammed into the same region with heavy rain and snow into Wednesday. Before its arrival, this storm was named Ernest by the Spanish Meteorological Department.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys, Storm Ernest is likely to be the most significant storm to hit southern Europe this week.
The runway is flooded at the international airport in Portoroz, Slovenia, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Heavy rains have battered parts of Slovenia and Croatia close to the Adriatic Sea coast, causing floods and landslides, blocking roads and disrupting traffic. (AP Photo/Miro Majcen)
Roys adds that, “Since the storm is impacting areas that were just hit by heavy rain in recent days and the ground is saturated and rivers are swollen, flooding and mudslides will become more likely. In higher terrain, the new snowfall will lead to an increased avalanche threat.”
Northeastern Italy, coastal Slovenia and western Croatia were some of the hardest hit areas during the first half of the week. The heaviest rain arrived in this region on Wednesday, when about 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours.
Vogel and Portoroz, Slovenia, reported 67.4 mm (2.65 inches) and 63 mm (2.48 inches) of rain, respectively, on Wednesday.
This amount of rain in addition to previous rain from Storm Ernest as well as previous storms will lead to areas of flooding and mudslides in Slovenia and Croatia.
According to the Associated Press, a prolonged period of heavy rain caused the Dragonja River to burst its banks near the border of Slovenia and Croatia on Wednesday night, local time. Floodwaters blocked a major road in the area which lead to the closure of a border crossing.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall caused a landslide in Koper, a port town along the coast of Slovenia, and flooded roadways in the area.
To the south, dozens of rescue operations have taken place in the Istria Peninsula, a portion of Croatia which juts out into the Adriatic Sea, as flood waters threatened residents. Landslides also blocked roads in this area.
Strong coastal winds added to the impacts across the bordering counties, as boats and ferries were kept in their ports, coastal flooding was reported and tracks were banned from traveling on roadways near the coast.
Venice, Italy, no stranger to tidal flooding, filled with water this week as a combination of heavy rain and high tide allowed water to spill into the city after a newly installed dam system failed to activate.
As of Thursday afternoon, local time, Venice, located along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, has reported 115 mm (4.52 inches) of rainfall since the start of December with 40 mm (1.57 inches) falling on Tuesday alone. The city typically reports 50 mm (2 inches) of rain during the month of December.
In elevations above 900-1,200 meters (about 3,000-4,000 feet), much of the precipitation fell as snow in the eastern Alps as well as Croatia and Slovenia. As of Wednesday night, local time, the snow depth in the Alps in eastern Italy ranged from 40 cm (16 inches) to 275 cm (108 inches or 9 feet).
Obertilliach Ski Resort in East Tyrol, Austria, was buried under 6 feet of snow on Dec. 9, after several days of heavy snowfall blanketed the area.
While residents in the eastern Alps worked on digging out from "extreme" snowfall during the beginning of the week, residents in the higher elevations of Slovenia lost power under the weight of wet snow and falling tree branches.
Even outside of the hardest-hit areas, heavy rain and mountain snow also swept across the rest of Italy and into the western Balkans, which led to isolated flash flooding and travel delays.
As this first storm departs southern Europe during the second half of the week, two more will be close to follow and will dive into France and Spain from Wednesday night into Saturday.
While these storms may not raise to the magnitude as past ones, they can still bring bouts of heavy rain and wind to western Europe.
Roys expects a general 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) of rain to fall from northern Portugal and Spain into southern France. Areas along the coast of northwest Spain can have as much of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ to 150 mm (6 inches).
Cold air in place across the region can bring up to 15 cm (6 inches) of snow to the Massif Central in France, while 30 cm (12 inches) can fall across the Pyrenees.
Similar to recent storms, these will follow a track into the Mediterranean. However, unlike the past few storms that brought heavy rain and snow to northern Italy, these late-week storms will be aimed more into areas from southern Italy to the southern Balkans.
“While bringing more rain to water-logged areas, these do not look to raise to the same magnitude as recent storms. Northern Italy should also catch a break as this storm passes farther to the south” said Roys.
Looking into next week, a pattern change may be in store for the region. As the jet stream lifts the storm track to the north, much of the central Mediterranean could have a turn to drier and warmer weather.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather Forecasts
Storm Ernest brings flooding rain, ‘extreme’ snow as more storms target southern Europe
By Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist & Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 7, 2020 2:11 PM EDT | Updated Dec 10, 2020 5:32 PM EDT
As snow builds in the mountains and flooding issues develop across southern Europe in the wake of Storm Ernest, AccuWeather forecasters are already monitoring the next round of rain and snow for the region.
Additional rounds of heavy rain and snow are set to strike western and southern Europe this week after an already active start to December.
On the heels of several storms that brought flooding rainfall, heavy snow and strong winds to southern and western Europe, at least three more rounds of rain and wind are expected this week.
Since the start of December, an active storm track has brought impactful storm systems to the region, including one from late last week and into the weekend that dropped up to 790 mm (31 inches) of rain during a 72-hour period across northeastern Italy.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The storm over the weekend also brought heavy snow to the higher terrain of Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy. APNews reported that several communities in the Australian Alps put coronavirus testing on hold after 70 cm (27.5 inches) of snow fell overnight Friday into Saturday. A total of 61 inches of snow was reported at Kredarica Mountain in Slovenia.
Due to the storm, the International Ski Federation postponed the men's and women's Giant Slalom race at Santa Caterina Valfurva that was set to take place over the weekend.
Another storm slammed into the same region with heavy rain and snow into Wednesday. Before its arrival, this storm was named Ernest by the Spanish Meteorological Department.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys, Storm Ernest is likely to be the most significant storm to hit southern Europe this week.
The runway is flooded at the international airport in Portoroz, Slovenia, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Heavy rains have battered parts of Slovenia and Croatia close to the Adriatic Sea coast, causing floods and landslides, blocking roads and disrupting traffic. (AP Photo/Miro Majcen)
Roys adds that, “Since the storm is impacting areas that were just hit by heavy rain in recent days and the ground is saturated and rivers are swollen, flooding and mudslides will become more likely. In higher terrain, the new snowfall will lead to an increased avalanche threat.”
Northeastern Italy, coastal Slovenia and western Croatia were some of the hardest hit areas during the first half of the week. The heaviest rain arrived in this region on Wednesday, when about 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours.
Vogel and Portoroz, Slovenia, reported 67.4 mm (2.65 inches) and 63 mm (2.48 inches) of rain, respectively, on Wednesday.
Related:
This amount of rain in addition to previous rain from Storm Ernest as well as previous storms will lead to areas of flooding and mudslides in Slovenia and Croatia.
According to the Associated Press, a prolonged period of heavy rain caused the Dragonja River to burst its banks near the border of Slovenia and Croatia on Wednesday night, local time. Floodwaters blocked a major road in the area which lead to the closure of a border crossing.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall caused a landslide in Koper, a port town along the coast of Slovenia, and flooded roadways in the area.
To the south, dozens of rescue operations have taken place in the Istria Peninsula, a portion of Croatia which juts out into the Adriatic Sea, as flood waters threatened residents. Landslides also blocked roads in this area.
Strong coastal winds added to the impacts across the bordering counties, as boats and ferries were kept in their ports, coastal flooding was reported and tracks were banned from traveling on roadways near the coast.
Venice, Italy, no stranger to tidal flooding, filled with water this week as a combination of heavy rain and high tide allowed water to spill into the city after a newly installed dam system failed to activate.
As of Thursday afternoon, local time, Venice, located along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, has reported 115 mm (4.52 inches) of rainfall since the start of December with 40 mm (1.57 inches) falling on Tuesday alone. The city typically reports 50 mm (2 inches) of rain during the month of December.
In elevations above 900-1,200 meters (about 3,000-4,000 feet), much of the precipitation fell as snow in the eastern Alps as well as Croatia and Slovenia. As of Wednesday night, local time, the snow depth in the Alps in eastern Italy ranged from 40 cm (16 inches) to 275 cm (108 inches or 9 feet).
Obertilliach Ski Resort in East Tyrol, Austria, was buried under 6 feet of snow on Dec. 9, after several days of heavy snowfall blanketed the area.
While residents in the eastern Alps worked on digging out from "extreme" snowfall during the beginning of the week, residents in the higher elevations of Slovenia lost power under the weight of wet snow and falling tree branches.
Even outside of the hardest-hit areas, heavy rain and mountain snow also swept across the rest of Italy and into the western Balkans, which led to isolated flash flooding and travel delays.
As this first storm departs southern Europe during the second half of the week, two more will be close to follow and will dive into France and Spain from Wednesday night into Saturday.
While these storms may not raise to the magnitude as past ones, they can still bring bouts of heavy rain and wind to western Europe.
Roys expects a general 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) of rain to fall from northern Portugal and Spain into southern France. Areas along the coast of northwest Spain can have as much of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ to 150 mm (6 inches).
Cold air in place across the region can bring up to 15 cm (6 inches) of snow to the Massif Central in France, while 30 cm (12 inches) can fall across the Pyrenees.
Similar to recent storms, these will follow a track into the Mediterranean. However, unlike the past few storms that brought heavy rain and snow to northern Italy, these late-week storms will be aimed more into areas from southern Italy to the southern Balkans.
“While bringing more rain to water-logged areas, these do not look to raise to the same magnitude as recent storms. Northern Italy should also catch a break as this storm passes farther to the south” said Roys.
Looking into next week, a pattern change may be in store for the region. As the jet stream lifts the storm track to the north, much of the central Mediterranean could have a turn to drier and warmer weather.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo