Center of Turin Today:

After an unusually dry winter, Northern Italy has just in a few hours during the night and this day recieved huge amount of snow. So much that the whole region is practically a white chaos of traffic jams and hysterical newsreels. Malpensa and Linate, the two major airports outside Milan, 2 hour drive from Torino, are closed, and the civil guard has been put on alert. But while some people cry catastrophe the Torino 2006 organizing committee is probably dancing happily in the heavy snowfalls. What could have been a Winter Game with strips of imported snow to cover the path and slopes over green grass is now officially history! The fact is that Piemonte and Lombardia haven't experienced similar snowfall in 20 years - and it's supposed to last over the weekend - so rojoice my fellow Olympic fans.

Even tomorrow's torch relay leg, from Bormio to Livigno, is cancelled due to the snowfall. The organizers decided to do this after the problems they experienced today between Cortina and Merano. The relay continues as normal on Sunday with the leg from Bergamo to Milano.