There is really only one topic of conversation in Barga this morning – the rain. After one of the driest summers in many years, this morning at dawn a huge thunderstorm over Barga finally brought some relief to the dry and parched ground. It has now been raining or six hours and looks as though it might be set in for the day. At the height of the thunderstorm, the dawn sky over the city was lit up by repetitive bolts of lightning, one of which struck the ground near to Albiano setting fire to a tree which burned brightly for an hour or so despite the teeming rain. There were no other reports of any other damage in the area.

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The only people complaining in Barga this morning were the children who not only had to go back to school this morning after the long summer holidays, in itself good reason for complaint, but also the abrupt change in their daily habits from “carefree holidays” to “back-to-school” was underlined and emphasised by the inclement weather.