Severe thunderstorms swept across northern Italy on Wednesday, halting rail services along the Ligurian coast and triggering widespread weather alerts. A lightning strike hit the control room at Ventimiglia station, suspending rail traffic from 12:45 on the line between Genoa and the French border. The Freccia Bianca 8601 train was stranded at Riva Trigoso after a lightning-related fault, with delays reaching 80 minutes at Genoa Brignole and over an hour at Genova Quarto dei Mille.
An intense downpour in the Tigullio area dropped 103 mm of rain in a single hour at Chiavari. Orange-level alerts for hydrogeological risk were issued across Veneto and Lombardy, while Florence closed parks, cemeteries, and riverfront cycle paths through Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, red-level heat warnings remain in place for Bari and Palermo on Friday as southern Italy continues to endure extreme temperatures.