Dear summer, but when are you coming? Many people are wondering: beach resorts, tour operators, farmers, but also simple vacationers and Sunday bathers.
That little piece of the calendar that makes students smile seems to have rebelled against the clichés: there was little summer in 2024. Hot days, even very hot, in the middle of spring. Storms, clouds and a lot of wind from the beginning of June to today. The data comforts us: it is not just a feeling.
The rainy days in the provincial capitals in June were 5 in Genoa and La Spezia, 4 in Savona and 2 in Imperia. The cumulative rainfall from January to the end of June reached the absolute maximum values of the last twenty years, exceeding 1000 mm at the end of June (black line). We are therefore decidedly above the value expected by climatology (about 500 mm expected at the end of June, indicated by the dotted line “average value”).
Another matter is that the maximum temperatures in the month of June were close to those expected by climatology for the period 1961-2010 while the minimum temperatures were slightly higher: data consistent with the observation of a month of June characterised by uncertain and frequently cloudy weather.
Temperature variations are within the climatic norm, with two periods in which there was a significant drop in the average daily temperature (about 16°C towards the middle of the month and at the beginning of the second decade). In short, it was not the cooler air that delayed summer, but rather the more abundant rain than usual. But what to expect for this month of July?
Arpal forecasts speak of an unstable phase in the first week of July that would characterize the entire Italian territory, while the following three weeks would seem more stable albeit in a context of uncertainty in the forecast of the second part of the month. As for temperatures, the first week of July is expected to be below average values over a good part of central-western Europe, including Italy. In the following three weeks, warmer than normal conditions could occur especially in central-southern Italy and part of the Mediterranean, while part of northern Italy and western Europe would see locally positive or negative thermal anomalies depending on the area considered. In short, we will soon go back to calling it summer.
