Violent Hailstorm Hits the Nocerino Sarnese Area

A violent hailstorm struck, this morning, the Nocerino Sarnese area, particularly the area of Sarno, whitening the streets and roofs. The violent storm also submerged the fields of the territory in white grains, damaging the productions - in full vegetative phase - of lettuces, cabbages, chicories, fennels, and savoys. Some damages were recorded to the greenhouse systems. The access roads remained off-limits for a few hours. Damages also occurred to buds and small fruits on trees already in an advanced phase of vegetation after a winter that, from a climatic point of view, recorded a higher than average temperature. A sharp downsizing of the harvests is expected for fruits and vegetables. "This is an event whose extent will only be assessable in the coming days," comments the director of Coldiretti Salerno, Enzo Tropiano. Hail is the most feared atmospheric phenomenon by farmers due to the irreversible damages it causes to crops since, in a matter of minutes, it is capable of destroying a year's work. Unfortunately, in recent years, entrepreneurs face increasingly controversial phenomena, where exceptional weather waves alternate with off-season heat in just a few hours. "In the current seasonal phase with plants in full bloom and early produce in the field, hail," continues the director of Coldiretti, "is the riskiest event for agricultural entrepreneurs because it endangers entire harvests after a year of work." Coldiretti Salerno is currently assessing the damages with reconnaissance among the agricultural companies of the territory. Only in the coming days will it be possible to estimate the damages.