Learn Italian: Ha piovuto molto; di conseguenza la strada è chiusa. - It rained a lot; consequently the road is closed.

In this sentence, di conseguenza (consequently) introduces a result that is a stated fact: the road is actually closed. Because it expresses a factual outcome rather than an intention, goal, or purpose, it triggers the indicative mood. You only use the subjunctive in consecutive clauses when they express a purpose.

Could I use the lesson's target phrases di modo che or in modo che in this sentence instead?

Yes, you could say ha piovuto molto, di modo che la strada è chiusa (it rained a lot, with the result that the road is closed). Because it still describes a factual result that already happened, you would keep the indicative verb (è). Using di conseguenza just breaks it into two distinct thoughts rather than linking them as a single continuous clause.

Wait, doesn't piovere (to rain) take essere in the past tense?

It can actually take either! Atmospheric weather verbs like piovere, nevicare (to snow), and grandinare (to hail) are a special exception in Italian: you can use either avere (ha piovuto) or essere (è piovuto) in compound tenses. Both are completely correct and commonly used by native speakers.

Is è chiusa considered passive voice here?