The February 2012 exceptional snowfall along the Adriatic side of Central Italy

Between the end of January and mid February 2012, the Italian peninsula has been subject to the influence of many advections of arctic-continental air generating a series of cyclogenesis over the central Mediterranean Sea. This caused widely spread mainly snowy precipitation, often persistent, mostly affecting the central-southern Regions, as well as Rome and Naples. Snowfalls and low temperatures caused some sixty casualties, besides huge damage to economic and productive facilities. The analysis of a large number of nivometric monitoring points, belonging to different institutions (Meteomont, Military Aviation, Civil Protection and Universities) allowed evaluating the spatial distribution of total snowfall. Comparing these figures with those referring to past perturbation phases similar in length - recorded in the winter of 1929, 1956, 1985 and 2005 - demonstrates that the 2012 event can be considered exceptional being characterized by a higher total thickness of snow cover almost everywhere along the hills and low mountains of the Adriatic side of Central Italy.