At 4pm (Italy time) the current weather condition in Rome,
Italy was rain showers with a temperature of 48°F. Since voting for the new
pope began on Tuesday, NBC confirms that the first two conclave votes to elect
a new Pope were inconclusive, thus, not resulting in a new pope. While there
are no favorites in this race, bets are being made. In Europe, they have a
Sweet Sistene betting system (similar to how the college basketball Sweet
Sixteen brackets work in the U.S.), for who will end up winning the papalship. Could
Mother Nature have some money on this? Hear me out. Last month, when the
previous pope resigned, lightning struck the Vatican. Sign from above? Probably
not. Just like the Empire State Building, Sears Tower, and the Burj Khalifa
alike, the Vatican is a tall building, and often gets struck by lightning. Still,
some people saw this as a sign. If you were one of them, get ready for more
signs.
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| Courtesy: Weather.com |
When the Papal Conclave convened yesterday to start the voting
process, thunderstorms rolled into Rome, and accorindg to Accuweather, brought
several rounds of heavy rain, lightning, and even hail to the Vatican. If that
wasn’t enough, a waterspout was reported yesterday just off Isola del Giglio,
an island off the coast north of Rome.
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| Courtesy: Blitzortung.org |
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| Courtesy: GiglioNews |
Coincidence or rare occurance? While I can’t say it is a
coincidence, it certainly is not rare for Italy to experience thunderstorms in
the Spring. In fact, the weather in Rome is filled with hail, heavy rain, and
lightning during the Spring months. However, some felt differently about the
type of storms they were having. A tweet from Wendy Lou Who says that MSNBC’s
reporters mentioned that during their coverage of the conclave that there was “thunder,
lightning, and Biblical rain”.
Many stand at the Vatican waiting for an answer with their
umbrellas in hand. More rain is expected through the evening tonight, quite
heavy at times. Rain will continue Thursday as well, before finally tapering off before Friday morning. So whether or not all of this bad weather is a sign, I cannot say. What I can say is that more of it is likely.
Sources: Accuweather, Weather Channel, ABC News, NBC News, Twitter, Blitzortung
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