Overview
- A fast-moving thunderstorm complex produced very intense, short-lived rainfall in Tuscany that overwhelmed local drainage and triggered flash flooding.
- Emergency teams carried out multiple rescues, including a couple pulled from a car in Prato and hikers rescued from the swollen Reno, while firefighters cleared flooded streets and fallen trees.
- Measured extremes included 87 mm of rain in under an hour at Borgo a Mozzano and lightning counts reported locally at about 3,400 and roughly 18,000 across six hours in the wider area.
- Regional authorities issued orange and yellow weather alerts across Tuscany, Marche, Umbria and Campania and local control centers in Prato reported dozens of active interventions, power outages and closed underpasses.
- Forecasters say the convective episode is short-lived and will be replaced next week by a subtropical high from North Africa that could push temperatures to about 38–40°C in parts of central and northern Italy.