Italy faces another 10 days of heavy snow, high winds

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 19 - Italy is facing another 10 days of heavy snow, intense rain and high winds that have already caused widespread damage and flooding, weathermen said Thursday.
    "Extreme bad weather will be brought by cold winds, first from the North Atlantic and then from the Balkans," said Andrea Garbinato, editor of the www.iLMeteo.it weather website.
    Over the next few hours there will be a lot of snow dumped onto low ground in southern Veneto, Tuscany and Emilia, while low-level snow is also possible Friday in Sardinia, he said.
    Gales will sweep Sicily and Calabria, reaching 150 km/h.
    Also on Friday, snow is forecast on the southern Apennines.
    The weekend will be marked by more high winds in the south and widespread showers, spreading northwards into Adriatic regions, said Garbinato.
    On Saturday there will be major snowfalls on the Apennine spine at around 100 metres in Marche and 350m in Calabria, while on Sunday the snow will spread to low hills in Sicily.
    Successive anti-cyclones will affect Italy until the end of the month, Garbinato said. (ANSA).