Severe weather alert: Sardinia on orange code, Basilicata still yellow.

New severe weather is approaching Italy, with Sardinia on the front line. For today, Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the Civil Protection has issued an orange weather alert (moderate criticality) for hydrogeological risk in the areas of Sardinia covering the Flumendosa, Flumineddu, and Gallura basins. A yellow alert (ordinary criticality) for thunderstorm risk has been issued for the same areas.

Basilicata also remains under watch, with a yellow alert for hydrogeological risk in the Basi-B, Basi-E2, and Basi-C zones, and for hydraulic risk in the Basi-E2 and Basi-E1 areas. Forecasts indicate for Sardinia, particularly the eastern sectors, heavy and persistent rainfall, including thunderstorms or downpours, due to a flow of humid currents.

The national alert system of the Civil Protection Agency for meteorological risks was created to prevent damage from extreme events. Its legal basis is the Directive of the President of the Council of Ministers dated February 27, 2004, which defined the levels of criticality (ordinary, moderate, high). Subsequently, with the "Operational Guidelines for the Homogenization of Messages" of February 10, 2016, these levels were associated with the color codes (yellow, orange, red) that we now know as 'alerts'.

The system operates through the Decentralized Functional Centers of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, which assess local hazards. The national bulletins are a synthesis of these assessments. The maps show 'alert zones,' areas homogeneous in terms of the type and intensity of expected weather phenomena. Criticality for thunderstorm risk was specifically introduced in 2016. There is no specific red alert for thunderstorms because phenomena of such intensity and scale already fall within the maximum alert (red) scenario for hydrogeological risk, having similar effects.