Bologna, September 9, 2026 – The long-awaited turning point seems to have really arrived this time, forecasts indicate a sharp drop in temperatures and instability.
Is it the end of summer? Roberto Nanni, Ampro weather technician, urges caution. The fact is the North Atlantic-origin disturbance that will reach our region today, marking the end of the anomalous heatwave that characterized August and part of September. “The change will not be only thermal – explains Nanni – The atmospheric circulation will especially change, with the arrival of cooler and more humid currents associated with the disturbed system. This will favor a marked increase in instability, with thunderstorms that on Wednesday will progressively affect much of the regional territory and on Thursday will tend to concentrate mainly in the central-eastern sectors.”
Rain and wind arriving: the Regional ordinance
Locally intense phenomena cannot be excluded, with heavy showers, hailstorms, and wind gusts, favored by the contrast between the cooler air arriving and the heat and humidity still present in the lower layers.
“Thermally, the turning point will be particularly evident – continues the analysis –. After still fully summer values, on September 9 a rapid drop in temperatures will begin, becoming more marked between Wednesday and Thursday. In Emilia-Romagna, maximum temperatures could reach values close to or below 25°C in several areas, with an even more evident reduction compared to recent days. In Romagna, where the heat persisted with particular tenacity, the change will be equally sharp, with maximum temperatures expected around 23-26°C on Thursday.
This is precisely the most significant signal: after an exceptionally persistent phase, the heat finally loses its dominant character and gives way to a more dynamic circulation more suitable for the period.
Wednesday, September 9
The Civil Protection of Emilia Romagna has issued a new weather alert: today’s alert modified starting from 12:00, new alert for Thursday 10. From 12:00 on September 9, 2026, orange alert for thunderstorms in the provinces of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini. Yellow for river floods, landslides, and floods of minor watercourses throughout the territory.
For the second part of Wednesday, September 9, thunderstorms, even of strong intensity, are expected throughout the regional territory, with probable effects and associated damages.
In the afternoon, associated with the thunderstorm phenomena, high-intensity gusty winds (89 to 102 km/h) are also expected, more likely in the central-eastern plains and on the coast. The phenomena will subside in the evening.
In the areas affected by showers, especially in the central-western hilly and mountainous sectors, localized runoff and erosion phenomena, rapid rise of levels in the minor hydrographic network, and rapid landslides on fragile slopes are possible. In the main hydrographic network of the regional watercourses, exceedances of threshold 1 are expected in the mountainous and hilly stretches, with consequent propagation in the valley stretches.
Thursday, September 10
From midnight on September 10, orange alert in Parma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini. Yellow throughout the territory for rivers, floods, and landslides. Thunderstorms, including strong intensity ones, are expected, more likely in the western Apennine areas and the central-eastern sector, with possible effects and associated damages.
In the areas affected by precipitation, especially in the central-eastern hilly and mountainous sectors, localized runoff and erosion phenomena, rapid rise of levels in the minor hydrographic network, and landslides are possible. In the main hydrographic network of the regional watercourses, exceedances of threshold 1 are expected particularly in the mountainous and hilly stretches.
“It’s the end of the anomalous heat”
At this point, the question everyone asks: is summer over? “Probably not, at least not in an absolute sense – answers Nanni – The disturbed passage mainly represents the end of the long phase of anomalous heat, not necessarily the end of summer conditions in the strict sense. After a still variable and relatively cool phase between Friday and the weekend, a new strengthening of high pressure over the western Mediterranean is indeed possible, accompanied by a gradual recovery of temperatures.
The novelty, therefore, will not be so much the definitive absence of summer but the loss of that continuity of heat that characterized summer 2026. From now on, the scenario could become more variable, with stable and still mild phases alternating with disturbed passages and incursions of cooler air.” Nanni concludes that for Emilia-Romagna a new phase opens: not necessarily the end of summer, but certainly the end of its long dominance.
Read more Husband and wife hit while crossing the street: they are in life-threatening condition
