Orange weather alert for Puglia and Basilicata on Monday 2 November, schools shut in several cities

Orange alert for Puglia and Basilicata

The Civil Protection Department, working with the regions concerned, has issued a new warning of adverse weather for Monday 2 November. Puglia and Basilicata are under an orange alert for storms and hydrogeological risk, while Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Molise and Sicily are under a yellow alert. The Puglia warning is set to run for 18 hours from 06:00 on Monday 2 November. The weather system is a low-pressure area moving down from the Balkans toward the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is forecast to deepen over the southern Tyrrhenian. That deepening is expected to bring a sharp deterioration to the middle Adriatic side and much of the South.

Rain, wind and colder air

Rain will begin early on Monday 2 November in Abruzzo, Molise and Sicily, then spread to Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata. It is forecast to persist in Basilicata and along the eastern Apennine slopes of Abruzzo and Molise. The showers may be heavy and come with strong gusts, local hail and frequent lightning. Winds from the north are expected to reach strong-to-storm force over Lazio, Campania and Sicily, and gusts could touch 100 km/h in Lazio, Campania, Sicily, Basilicata and Puglia. Temperatures in the Centre-South are forecast to drop up to 3-4 degrees below the seasonal average, with snow on the Apennine ridges where flakes could fall as low as 900-1,000 metres. The forecast points to a first respite on Tuesday 3 November.

Schools, parks and cemeteries shut

Lecce and Brindisi have ordered all schools, parks and cemeteries closed for Monday 2 November. San Severo, in the Foggia province, has already decided to close its schools, and the councils of Barletta and Trani have ordered closures of schools, parks and cemeteries too. Bari had not planned any closures for now. In the Brindisi province, mayors coordinated by provincial president Elio Ciccarese were weighing similar ordinances. In Lecce, mayor Adriana Poli Bortone has cancelled the traditional Monday morning visit to the graves of mayors and notable figures at the monumental cemetery, which marks the commemoration of the dead. In Naples, parks and public beaches will be closed on Monday 2 November under the yellow alert.

Holiday timing and school days

Monday 2 November is the commemoration of the dead, and in many regions schools were already closed for the holiday. Local councils describe the closures as precautionary, aimed at protecting students and school staff. Under Ministry of Education rules for force majeure, school days lost to bad weather are not made up. The closures are therefore expected to remove teaching time that will not be recovered.