A ? about weather in Italy in Mid September

[SMJ]

Hi;
I've been to Italy many times, but nearly always in May or June.
I was wondering what the weather might be like for the middle two weeks of September in Venice, Bologna, and Ravenna.
If any one has any information on weather there on recent trips, I would be grateful!
Just trying to decide what to pack....the eternal dilemma.......
Thanks!

 

[joe]

A weather question is a bit tricky : if the answer you're getting is based on personal experience, then you've got all the subjective biases (and memory problems...). In addition, while forecasting is always getting better, weather is not always following historical trends.

My advice :
1) Look at the forecasts as late as possible before you leave, and then pack. Forecasts for the coming week-ten days are quite accurate.
2) There are some good websites with weather archives for anywhere in the world. You just enter the dates you're interested in, put in any year - and you get a graph or table with the necessary info. You can redo the search for any number of recent years, and thus get a general idea of what to expect.
The relevant info for you would be max/min daily temperatures, and amount of rain.
For example, the relevant info for Venice from September last year :

Temperatures :
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weat...&PRE=&MONAT=&OFFS=&SORT=&MM=09&YY=2016&WEEK=4

Rain :
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weat...&PRE=&MONAT=&OFFS=&SORT=&MM=09&YY=2016&WEEK=4

On the left you'll see a list of places in Italy - so that gives you the option of checking other cities as well. Changing the dates under the graph can give you the info for additional years.

Another good site for weather archives is wunderground, but right now it's on Google's red list....

 

[Ian Sutton]

We tend to go in either May, or September/October.

Whilst the weather can vary, September has often been quite dry, varying from the relatively rare cool/wet day, through the majority comfortably warm, to a few days where it was genuinely hot. If you like the temperature warm, but not too hot to go and do stuff, then I'd say mid-September has a good chance of being ideal.

In terms of packing, you could pack a very light pocket umbrella, but I wouldn't bother for September, and in Bologna the extensive porticoed streets plus high sided buildings elsewhere means you can stay dry even if it's raining persistently. Easy to buy them in Italy if the weather turns bad.

Certainly worth having something light you can carry with you for the evenings in case it turns a little cooler, or on the rare cool/wet day.

The 2 week outlook forecasts are worth looking at (we tend to use meteo.it), though they do change significantly, so treat as a broad guess.

 

[aap519]

For the last four years, we have been in Nice, France in mid September and the weather has always been in the upper 70's. I don't ever remember needing a jacket or sweatshirt. I can't imagine the weather in those Italian towns being much different than Nice, France.

Just a thought. I hope it helps.

 

[SMJ]

Thanks everyone!

 

[and]

September is still pretty much summer. Not July-August temperatures, more like early June, but without all the flowers and gardens in full bloom.

 

[Alpinista]

Would be very careful about assuming "normal". The temps have spiked right now and it has been a mostly rain-free summer. September could have you dripping sweat or looking for a jacket. I wouldn't pack anything except socks and underwear right now and see what the 10 day weather forecast looks like just before you leave.

 

[SMJ]

I guess looking back at other trips, the weather is never as you would expect!
I've learned to always pack a teeny umbrella, and a light rain jacket with a hood; as well as the regular warm weather clothes. Two years ago in Venice in late May, we bought hot water bottles at the local pharmacy, as it was so damp and chilly at night for about 4 days!

 

[Ian Sutton]

Two years ago in Venice in late May, we bought hot water bottles at the local pharmacy, as it was so damp and chilly at night for about 4 days!

and this is the answer to a lot of 'what ifs' - if the fear is realised, would it be a problem to just buy something to solve it in Italy? In so many cases, it's so very cheap and easy, that it's often not worth packing plenty of items 'just in case'.