After a largely snow-starved winter, Italy’s Apennine Mountains have been buried under a surge of late-season snowfall—bringing both relief and dangerous conditions to regions more accustomed to spring sunshine than deep powder in early April. In some ski areas, lift infrastructure has been completely buried, forcing resorts to halt operations for two days.
For much of the 2025–26 winter, the Apennines — the mountain chain running down the spine of Italy — lagged far behind the Alps in snowpack. While the Alps, which are home to world-famous resorts like Dolomiti Superski, typically receive colder, more reliable snowfall, the Apennines sit further south and at lower elevations, making them more vulnerable to warm Mediterranean air.
This winter, frequent storms did pass through central Italy, but mild Atlantic and Mediterranean air kept snowfall largely confined to elevations above 5,000–6,500 feet (1,500–2,000 meters), with lower-altitude snow quickly melting. By mid-March, the CIMA Research Foundation reported severe snow deficits across key river basins, including the Tiber (-70%) and Aterno-Pescara (-68%), with some areas seeing almost no snow at all.
That changed dramatically in late March and early April, when two storm systems — Deborah and Erminio — swept across the Adriatic side of the Apennines, particularly impacting regions like Abruzzo, Molise, and Emilia-Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is a region in northern Italy that stretches from the Adriatic coast inland toward the Apennines, while Abruzzo and Molise sit further south along the same mountain chain.
Snow fell heavily above roughly 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), with some areas seeing extraordinary accumulations for this time of year. In the mountain village of Capracotta — one of the highest towns in the Apennines at 4,660 feet (1,421 meters) — snowdrifts reached over five feet (1.5 meters), burying streets and forcing residents to dig tunnels through the snow.
In the ski resort Campo Imperatore at Gran Sasso near Abruzzo, one of the oldest ski resorts in Italy, snow piled more than 10 feet (3 meters) at the ski lifts, forcing the ski area to close on April 3 and 4. The operators announced that the ski area will reopen on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, Easter Sunday, but will only be able to run the Gran Sasso d’Italia cablecar from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The two chairlifts will remain closed until further assessment has taken place.
Elsewhere, snow depths reached 69 inches (175 cm) in Prati di Tivo, another ski area on the slopes of Gran Sasso, and 83 inches (210 cm) at Passo Lanciano, near the Maiella. These are significant totals even in midwinter — let alone early April.
The reason behind the late April snow dump is a rare combination of factors. A plume of moisture — similar to an “atmospheric river” — was drawn northward from equatorial Africa and funneled into the Adriatic side of Italy. As this moisture-laden air hit the Apennines, it was forced upward, cooling and condensing into heavy precipitation, a process known as orographic lift. At the same time, a slow-moving low-pressure system lingered over southern Italy, allowing snow and rain to fall constantly for several days. Warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Adriatic Sea also added extra moisture to the system.
The sudden return of winter has not come without consequences. Heavy snow and strong winds have increased avalanche danger, particularly in eastern sectors of the Gran Sasso and Maiella ranges. Italy’s Meteomont service has issued a Level 4 (High) avalanche warning out of 5, advising against any off-piste or backcountry travel. One avalanche struck a residential building in Prati di Tivo — though it had been evacuated beforehand — and multiple roads across the region were shut due to snow and debris.
At lower elevations, the storms brought heavy rain, contributing to flooding in river valleys and coastal plains from Abruzzo south toward Puglia. In one incident, a bridge collapsed over the Trigno River, sweeping away a vehicle.
Despite the chaos, the snowfall has provided a much-needed boost to water reserves. The CIMA Foundation estimates that snowpack across the Apennines now holds roughly one billion cubic meters of water — bringing levels slightly above average for this time of year after months of deficit.