Below zero: waiting for the big storm

Heavy snow and severe cold hit all over the Europe. According to the forecast, tonight there will be a snowfall in Florence, Italy, which could cover the city with 20 centimetres of snow. Strong winds are also expected during this week.

The perturbation, coming from Great Britain with cold air, reaches today the Italian Country and to cause a phase of perturbed weather in particular on Northern-Western of the Peninsula and on most part of the central regions where will be precipitations with snowy aspect.

State of alert due to snow and ice starting at 3 pm today, Tuesday, January 31, until 6 pm tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 1. The “Operations room” of Regione Toscana announced the alert status indicating that the expected level of criticality is moderate.

What to do – Take an extra care with the snow

Before snow or ice: make sure you have warm clothes, food, water, boots, a torch and spade, and let someone know when you expect to arrive and your route. Try to wait until the roads have been gritted before travelling. Put grit or cat litter on paths and driveways to lessen the risk of slipping on compacted snow. Check on vulnerable neighbours.

During snow or ice:  avoid travel if possible; if you must drive check traffic advice. Take care around gritters. Don’t be tempted to overtake. Slow down. Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin. Manoeuvre gently and avoid harsh braking and acceleration. If you start to skid, gently ease off the accelerator and avoid braking. If braking is necessary, pump the brakes don’t slam them on. If you get stuck, stay with your car and tie something brightly coloured to your aerial. If you go outside wear several layers of clothing and keep dry to prevent loss of body heat. Watch out for signs of hypothermia, loss of feeling in and pale appearance of fingers, toes, nose and ear lobes. Keep moving your arms and legs to help the blood circulate.

After snow and ice: be careful when walking or driving on compacted snow; it may have turned to ice; take care when shovelling snow. Cold air makes it harder to work and breathe, which adds some extra strain on the body and can be the cause of heart attacks in the vulnerable.