Cold and snow, in northern Lombardy it is still winter

SONDRIO, 24 JUNE – It is still winter in the northernmost areas of Lombardy. In Valtellina and Valchiavenna and in the Alta Val Seriana the mountain tops remain snow-capped, the temperatures below average. At work are the operators of the Stelvio glacier ski area, the highest in Europe, where the summer ski season has begun with the latest snowfalls of over 40 centimeters to consolidate the already existing layer. At the Dosdè refuge, at 2,800 meters above sea level, in the municipality of Valdidentro (Sondrio) – where rescuers from the Guardia di Finanza of Bormio recovered and brought four young people who had been stranded down to the valley – 50 centimeters of snow fell in a short time. The temperatures, which still drop below zero, make it difficult for the managers of the alpine refuges: hikers still don’t book and keeping them open without guests would represent a cost that would be difficult to sustain. Meanwhile, the level of streams and rivers, after the intense rains at low altitude in recent days, when there was a risk of flooding, has dropped. The adverse weather in May and June will however avoid problems of water scarcity this summer in the basins already almost at the limit of their maximum capacity.