As tradition dictates, this year too the Easter and Easter Monday weekend will be strongly influenced by the blow of the sirocco, which especially tomorrow will return to blow strongly on the Strait of Messina and on the Tyrrhenian coast, between Mortelle and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. However, it must be said that the sirocco, as often happens in spring, will have different effects between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts.
Along the Ionian coast and on the Strait, coming from the cold sea, the sirocco wind will be accompanied by very high relative humidity values, which will not allow temperatures to reach particularly high thermal values, not exceeding +23°C +24°C. Even on the Ionian coast, the very hot air coming from the Sahara will tend to flow over a “colder air cushion”, present at sea level, which in addition to keeping temperatures at bay, will create an area of calm, especially in the Taormina area, due to the particular phenomenon described in this item.
Up to +30°C expected on the Tyrrhenian coast
Between tomorrow and Easter, values above this could be reached in many places on the Tyrrhenian coast +27°C +28°Cwith peaks even close to +30°C. Like in the middle of July. This is because the sirocco winds, after having passed the Peloritani ridge, sliding on the leeward side, in the direction of the Tyrrhenian coast, in addition to compressing the air (already originally very hot) downwards, dehumidifying it, cause significant heating. The air mass sliding from the Peloritani towards the Tyrrhenian coast, losing its humidity load, will gain approximately +1°C every 100 meters.
This explains why at Easter in the Tyrrhenian locations the thermometer can locally exceed +30°Cwhile in the Strait area and on the Ionian coast the climate will be decidedly more temperate, with foggy air and mists, with the impetuous sirocco on the Strait. While in the Taormina area this cushion of cooler and more stable air will be isolated, near the sea, which will also guarantee a certain calm. Apart from the transit of cirriform clouds and some altocumulus, the sky will become heavily clouded, or even invisible, due to the presence of large quantities of desert dust, expelled from the sandy deserts of Algeria.
Saturday 30 March 2024
Easter Eve will be the typical sirocco day, with an intense southerly wind between the Strait and the Tyrrhenian coast, dark air and a sky made invisible by desert dust, raised from the deserts of Algeria and Libya. On the Tyrrhenian coast, in the area between Ortoliuzzo and Barcellona, the gusts of wind falling from the Peloritani could reach peaks of over 70/80 km/h. Temperatures will reach values of +21°C +22°Cwhile peaks above +26°C +28°C they can be reached on the Tyrrhenian coast of Messina. The Ionian and the Strait will become rough to very rough, the Tyrrhenian Sea below the coast will be almost calm.
Sunday 31 March 2024
Easter day seems to be conditioned by the sirocco, which will weaken, leaving a very dark and foggy atmosphere, between high clouds and suspended desert dust, with high relative humidity values on the Ionian coast and along the Strait of Messina. On the Tyrrhenian coast, however, the climate will be decidedly drier, with maximum temperatures even above the threshold of +28°C +30°C, in the area between Villafranca and Barcelona, where there will be a summer climate. The Strait and the Ionian Sea will become rough, even very rough, but the limited fetch will not increase the swell much.
Monday 1 April 2024
Easter Monday will open with a strong southerly wind, ready to weaken during the morning, giving way to moderate gusts from the west and mistral, which could reach speeds of over 40/50 km/h. On the Peloritani the gusts will even exceed 60/70 km/h in the best exposed points, therefore outdoor barbecues are not recommended, given the high risk of fire spread (the hot air and the vegetation dried up by the sirocco will make the fire index). In the city on Monday the maximum temperatures could reach the threshold of +25°Cbefore the first gusts of the mistral blow through, expected by the afternoon.
