At least 2 fatalities have been reported as a result of severe flooding and landslides in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, described the situation as unprecedented. Levels of the Lamone River jumped by over 10 metres in less than 24 hours. Areas of Bologna Province recorded more than 190 mm of rain in 24 hours.

© Regione Emilia-Romagna
Floods in Emilia-Romagna Italy, 03 May 2023.

The worst affected areas are in the provinces of Bologna, Ravenna and Forlì-Cesena. Teams from Vigil del Fuoco, Italy's fire and rescue service, are continuing to carry out rescues by boat and helicopter, most recently in Sant'Agata Sul Santerno in the Province of Ravenna. Three hundred firefighters have carried out over 500 interventions since the start of the severe weather. Around 500 people have evacuated their homes. Schools have been closed and rail transport disrupted.

Vigil del Fuoco confirmed one person died after a landslide buried a house in Fontanelice in Bologna Province. There were unconfirmed reports of another person missing under the rubble. Another person died after being swept away by floodwaters of the overflowing Senio River in Castel Bolognese, Province of Ravenna.

President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, said in a statement that never had so much water fallen in such a short time in the region, and the situation "has no historical precedent." He confirmed that the region has requested a national state of emergency from the Italian government.

Incessant rain for more than 48 hours caused rivers to break their banks. Botteghino di Zocca in the Metropolitan City of Bologna area recorded 198.2 mm of rain in 24 hours on 02 May. The town of Ponticelli recorded 163.8 mm during the same period.

Emilia-Romagna Civil Protection said that at one point on 03 May, as many as 13 rivers were at the highest alert (red) stage. Until this point, levels of many of the region's watercourses had been low after a long-term dry period.

Authorities said flooding along the Lamone River in areas near Bagnacavallo was of particular concern. An embankment along the Lamone River failed in Faenza in the province of Ravenna.

Levels of the Lamone River near Pieve Cesato, Province of Ravenna jumped from around 1 metre early on 02 May to over 11 metres by early 03 May, according to data from Arpae Emilia-Romagna.

Michigan Upper Peninsula winter storm smashing snowfall records

National Weather Service station in Marquette.

Snow in May is rare. The state of Michigan took that as a challenge, apparently.

The National Weather Service post in state's upper peninsula recorded an "historic snowstorm" this week after more than 26 inches fell on May 1 and 2.

"This historic snowstorm is finally coming to an end after setting impressive daily and monthly snowfall records at the Marquette National Weather Service Office where records date back to 1959," read a tweet from the NWS Marquette post.

Among the records broken include:

Snowfall totals for May 1 - 19.8 inches

Snowfall totals over a two-day period in May - 26.2 inches

Snowiest May on record - 26.2 inches

Greatest May snow depth - 20 inches as of 8 a.m. on May 2

A climatologist that was following along the snowstorm said that weather station in Herman, which is in the west side of the U.P., recorded 27 inches of snow. It's the greatest single-day May snowfall to happen in the eastern half of the continental U.S.

Some of the hardest hit parts of the peninsula include inland portions just west of Marquette and south of the Keweenaw peninsula. Ontonagon County also experienced heavy snowfall.

With the snow came some brutally cold wind gusts reaching 45 mph and power outage conditions.

The massive pile of snow that got dumped on the U.P. has to go somewhere, which means a grand snowmelt may be upon northern Michigan residents this week. Temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s and 50s, along with rain chances.

The heavy accumulation could mean flooding concerns are next on the weather service's radar. Much of the U.P. will be under a Flood Watch this week.