Aeolian islands cut off by bad weather, floods at Catania

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 17 - Sicily's Aeolian islands were cut off by bad weather on Friday and schools were shut due to torrential rain on Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea.
    Torrential rain-swelled floods hit many parts of Sicily including Taormina where the Alvcantar river was in flood, and Catania where fire brigade workers had to rescue a man whose car was submerged.
    Also in Sicily, trees and masonry were felled by gales at Caltanissetta.
    Schools were also closed in some parts of Sardinia.
    A weather alert was also in place in Calabria.
    One of Italy's top weathermen, Antonio Sanò, said that the "extreme" bad weather caused by a Tunisian vortex will continue to sweep Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria in the next few hours, with a 'load of rain to be unleashed and a high risk of flooding.
    Also over the weekend, said sanò, the precipitation will mainly hit southern Italy, but also the North on Sunday.
    Sanò, founder of the site 'iLMeteo.it', added that due to the warm flow of Sirocco winds, the snow that has fallen in recent days will melt and contribute to the flooding of the rivers.
    Very heavy rains (snow above 1500 meters) will hit Sicily, eastern Calabria and Tyrrhenian Sardinia; in the afternoon the most intense phenomena will always concentrate on the same areas, causing potentially flooding situations.
    The winds will blow with cyclonic rotation around the low pressure centered north of Tunisia: we will have storms of Grecale-Levante towards Sardinia, Sirocco on the Ionian and mainly from the east on the southern Tyrrhenian.
    Gusts exceeding 100 km/h are feared with waves up to 5-6 metres on exposed basins, with consequent storm surges.
    In short, Sanò points out, "we will have a black Friday the 17th from a meteorological point of view: rain up to 200 mm in 24 hours (200 litres of water per square metre), 2 metres of snow on the peaks of Etna, strong winds, storm surges and potential floods.
    On Saturday the bad weather will move a little north, still affecting southern Italy.
    Finally, on Sunday the rain will still affect the south, but the sky will also be overcast in the north where weak phenomena are expected in Piedmont; in the Centre we will have rain especially in Sardinia and on the Tyrrhenian side, while scattered showers will still affect western Sicily and the Ionian sectors between Calabria and Puglia.
    Detailed forecastl: - Friday the 17th. In the North: sunny. In the Centre: partly cloudy sky, widespread bad weather in Sardinia. In the South: intense bad weather in Sicily and Calabria, rain in Basilicata and Cilento . - Saturday the 18th. In the North: initially sunny, worsening by evening. In the Centre: bad weather in Sardinia, scattered rain in the rest of the regions. In the South: intense bad weather from Calabria towards Basilicata and Puglia.
    - Sunday 19. In the North: overcast skies, scattered showers in Liguria, Piedmont and Triveneto. In the Center: rains in Sardinia and locally on the Tyrrhenian side of the peninsula. In the South: rains on western Sicily and the Ionian sectors.
    - Outlook: more bad weather on Monday in the South, then partial improvement. (ANSA).