Tornado and hail size of a tennis ball swept through Italy
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Violent thunderstorms have again passed over northern Italy. After hail measuring 12 cm in diameter fell in Veneto on Thursday, Lombardy was hit by bad weather on Friday, with heavy hailstones and a tornado passing through the outskirts of Milan.
On Thursday, powerful hailstorms occurred in the Treviso and Venice areas. The diameter of the hailstones averaged 8-9 cm, while the largest measured 12 cm, Cars, buildings and crops were all damaged.
On Friday, the extreme weather reached Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. Hail measuring 9-11 cm fell in the towns of Magnacavallo, Castel Goffredo, Sermide and Marmirolo (Lombardy), Vigarano Mainarda (Emilia-Romagna) and Castelnuovo Don Bosco (Piedmont).
There was also heavy rainfall in many places, including Saronno in Lombardy, which led to flooding of streets, subways and lower-lying areas.
Italy was struck by more extreme weather on Friday morning, when a tornado developed in the town of Cernusco sul Naviglio, located east of Milan. Several people were feared dead, according to the Italian weather site MeteoWeb.
The website reported that plants were uprooted and roofs damaged, and firefighters removed debris and branches from the roads.