Ancona, July 21, 2026 – The wave of bad weather in the Marche region, intense and in some cases brief, arrived on time. Hail and thunderstorms hit many areas of the region. A case of a waterspout in Civitanova. From the Ancona area to the Macerata area, passing through Pesaro and Fano, the downpours and wind gusts did not delay, fully respecting the weather forecasts for today, July 21. The regional Civil Protection, in fact, had issued a double weather alert: yellow (inland) and orange (on the coast) for strong thunderstorms, with possible violent hailstorms also in the coastal strip.
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The situation in the Ancona area
- Ancona – The underpasses via Caduti del Lavoro and via Macerata have been closed to traffic due to flooding. Civil protection technicians particularly dealt with fallen trees. One collapsed in Paterno along the roadway, leading to the closure of the road exiting the hamlet towards Agugliano. Other trees fell in via Metauro towards Casine di Paterno, but without obstructing the road.
- Osimo – Powerful hailstorm and downpour over Osimo and Valmusone with state road 16 again flooded at Osimo Stazione. “The wave of rain and hail, although it only lasted 15 minutes, caused inconvenience in part of the territory, especially on the northern side and at Osimo Stazione,” reports Mayor Michela Glorio. “The municipal administration opened the Municipal Operations Center at 2:30 PM and issued an ordinance for the closure of parks, cemeteries, and sports facilities. All volunteers and companies are in the area to clear roads and contain the damage.” Osimo’s most populous hamlet relives the flood nightmare with every heavy rain. A definitive solution has yet to be found for the flooding problem that, for decades now, has worried and damaged residents and workers in shops and businesses located in the downstream section of Osimo Stazione, the one crossed by the Adriatic. Not only flooding but also trees fallen on roadways due to strong wind gusts that lashed the municipal territory and even tilted onto roofs.
- Falconara – The intensity reached by the rain in such a short time in Falconara brought back memories for several minutes of the terrible days of September 2024, when the Castelferretti area was hit by a cloudburst that caused damage and flooding. Almost two years later, the alarm returns to Falconara, in the form of a violent downpour that hit the center, causing various traffic disruptions. Along Via Flaminia (between the intersections of Via Marche and Via Palombina Vecchia), cars were almost forced to ‘ford’ the river of water that formed along the main city artery. The closure and access ban are triggered for all public city parks, gardens, cemeteries, and outdoor sports facilities in Falconara Marittima. The decision was made during the meeting of the COC, the Municipal Operations Center, opened this morning. The closure of parks, gardens, cemeteries, and stadiums will start at 5 PM today and will remain in force until the end of the emergency.
Hail and thunderstorms in the Pesaro area
Hail also in Pesaro: numerous videos on social media show hailstones falling both on the street and on the beach. Fano was also hit by a violent thunderstorm accompanied by hailstones as large as big ripe cherries, wind gusts, and torrential rain. For about twenty minutes, until 2:55 PM, the water fell with such intensity that it even overwhelmed terrace drains, which in some cases were unable to cope with the amount of water that poured over the city. In Via Arco d’Augusto, the water reached ankle height in some places, and the train station ended up underwater.
Bad weather in the Macerata area
Very strong wind gusts, hailstones as large as walnuts and downpours. This afternoon, bad weather hit the Macerata coast. As announced by the weather forecasts, there were violent thunderstorms that caused various damages between Porto Recanati and Civitanova. In the first municipality, there was a violent hailstorm, with hailstones like walnuts, which damaged several cars. In some homes, windows and shutters were broken by the hailstones. A waterspout in Civitanova, where the wind blew several beach umbrellas away, causing some damage to bathing establishments. Tarpaulins and awnings also flew, with strong wind gusts also damaging traffic lights. The storm lasted only a few minutes, but that was enough to cause inconvenience and damage.
Wind gusts in the Fermo area
Bad weather also hit the Fermo coast: in Porto San Giorgio broken branches and overturned umbrellas on the beach. In the inland area, no rain but wind gusts.
San Benedetto (Ascoli) activates the COC
The Municipality of San Benedetto del Tronto (Ascoli Piceno) has prepared a territorial monitoring and surveillance plan. At the invitation of Mayor Nicola Mozzoni, the Municipal Operations Center (COC) met. At the same time, contact was maintained with the Multi-Risk Functional Center of the Marche Region, which indicated a possible involvement of the coastal strip from north to south, with more intense phenomena starting from 6 PM and possible showers also during the night. The COC headquarters in Viale dello Sport is operational. Civil Protection volunteers and local police officers will patrol the territory, with particular attention to railway underpasses, road networks, and areas considered most vulnerable to the effects of thunderstorms, carrying out constant monitoring to intervene quickly if necessary. The administration also draws attention to the free parking lot in Via Volta, located at a lower elevation than the road level and therefore more exposed to the risk of flooding. In the presence of intense rainfall, parked cars could suffer damage. This morning, an invitation was broadcast to tourists via the beach sound system to pay maximum attention.
Firefighters’ interventions
There have been approximately 45 interventions by firefighters throughout the Marche region due to the violent cloudburst – with hail, rain, and strong winds – that hit the region this afternoon. About half of these were in the Pesaro area, the rest in the Ancona area, which is the most affected province. In the province of Ancona, there are several calls pending for flooding, including underpasses, for sheathing and roof coverings torn off by strong winds, especially in the coastal area, and fallen trees. No injuries have been reported at the moment. The provinces of Macerata and Fermo were affected to a lesser extent.
