Snowfall in south and central Italy
coupled with cold temperatures and strong winds frustrated
students on spring breaks while snarling traffic up and down the
peninsula Tuesday.
Optimistic forecasters promised better weather with
sunshine warming much of Italy later in the week, excluding the
southern Adriatic area.
But that was little comfort to residents in Campobasso, the
capital city of the Molise region south of Rome.
They reported overnight snowfall that was rare for April in
central Italy.
A reported 10 centimetres of snow fell on the city Monday
night as snowplows were brought out to clear away the
accumulation.
Schools were already closed for Easter break, cheating
children from claiming a snow-day excuse from classes.
Mixed with rain, it made for dangerous driving conditions
which were reported all the way down to Taranto and Bari in
Italy's heel.
Meanwhile, storm-tossed seas hampered the search for the
bodies of two Romanian sailors who died Thursday when a fishing
boat went down in the Adriatic.
Their bodies may have been caught in a current and pulled
away from the wreck of the boat, the Sparviero.
Two Italians also died in the disaster in waters near the
central Italian town of Civitanova Marche.
Their vessel capsized and sank while working at a clam
farm during rough conditions in the Adriatic.
An investigation is continuing into possible manslaughter
charges in the sinking.
Cold temperatures and strong winds could continue in that
part of Italy, possibly extended over the south, over the next
few days, forecasters warned.
However, sunshine and warmer weather were expected in the
north and the west-central regions.
That follows a cruel Easter weekend for many suffering
under cold temperatures and strong winds that blew rain and cold
into the faces of pilgrims at Vatican City on Sunday and drove
Easter egg-hunters indoors.
Along the Adriatic coast, winds pushed temperatures down to
as low as -8 degrees C, reminiscent of the worst of winter
weather.
Ski lifts and cable cars were shaken by wind at ski resorts
in Abruzzo's Campo Imperatore area, and some sites were forced
to close their lifts for a time on Tuesday.
In Pescara on the Adriatic coast, people were resigned to
wild fluctuations, noting that at Easter in April 2012,
temperatures swung wildly from 23 decrees C in the morning to
14C in only two hours.
In Marche region, sleet and snow driven by intense winds
created a white sheet covering the hills near the cities of
Macerata and Fabriano.
Nearby in Umbria, hilltop cities including Perugia, Gualdo
Tadino and Gubbio awoke to find their normally red-tiled
rooftops also covered in white sheets of snow while above
Assisi, Mount Subasio was also topped with late snows.
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