The weather in the last few days has been steeped in what already appears to be an “eternal anticyclone”. Indeed as the high lights facing the British Isles show no sign of fading, resulting in a incredibly sunny and cold weather in a good part of Europe, mainland Portugal is no exception. This strong and persistent anticyclone, at par. from the movement of the polar jet, causes an abnormal blockage throughout winter instability (blizzards) is channeled only to Eastern European countries, such as Greece and Turkey.

icy polarizing air

And if this Thursday the slowdown in the weather has already justified the increase in yellow warnings for districts of continental Portuguese geography (Braga, Vila Real, Bragança, Leiria, Santarém, Setúbal), tomorrow this panorama will remain in these same territories. During the next few days, cold and dry weather will get worse across the country thanks to the arrival of a polar air mass in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Temperatures are expected to fall from the north to the south of mainland Portugal, with thermometers registering negative lows in several locations in the interior North and Center.

Thus, for the following days, especially on Friday (21) and even more notoriously on Saturday (22), the weather will remain dry and even colder. The conjugation of the aforementioned anticyclone located over the British Isles, with the “invasion” of the aforementioned cold polar air mass, coming from the interior of the European continent, justifies the yellow warnings which is in effect for almost the entire country (15 districts) next Saturday (22). Only Lisbon, Beja and Faro “escape” at the moment.

In addition to low daytime temperatures, cooling leads to the formation of low temperatures ice and frosts that cover a huge expanse of the country, as you can see no GIF below. Although the days are sunny, the cold will persist, so it is recommended good coats and reinforcement of heaters and electrical such as equipment heaters and fireplaces. It is also important not to forget that this meteorological situation is favorable to the problem, sometimes persistent, of failure fogs and mists in valleys and sheltered places.

Between Friday and Saturday, minimum temperatures will be below 0 °C in many inland district capitals, such as Vila Real, Viseu, Bragança and Guarda, and can even go down to -5 °C elsewhere in these regions. On the Atlantic coast, temperatures will not be so great, but Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon recorded, respectively, minimums of 3°C, 1°C and 5°C. Maximums will fluctuate between 10°C and 15°C in the North and Center, reaching up to 17°C in Baixo Alentejo and Algarve. In Nordeste Transmontano and Beira Alta, they will not exceed 10 °C.

On Sunday3) as temperatures will gradually2 rise again along3, such a cold environment is not expected. However, the sun and the cold will still be there for a while longer. Finally, another meteorological aspect that will worsen the cold when joining this panorama, is the east quadrant wind that will contribute to an increase in thermal discomfort. It will blow moderately strong in the highlands and, in a protected way, in the coastal strip.

Worsening meteorological drought

Like this powerful anticyclonic blockade still in motion, the dry and sunny weather seems to have no end in sight, either in the short or medium term. In fact, the almost total absence of rain in 2022 is contributing immensely to the worsening of a situation that was already serious in January, thanks to a autumn that was also dry. In the middle of winter, the panorama is very worrying from the north to the south of mainland Portugal, remaining about 94% of the country in a situation of meteorological drought. The most understood regions are the Alentejo and the Algarve.

The almost total absence of meteorology in this month of January has contributed to the fact that 94% of the Portuguese territory is in this state of drought.

In a season when it should be raining in a generalized and abundant way, the country is suffocated by the lack of water, essential for soils (fodder and agricultural crops), groundwater, rivers and dams, in particular for the production of electrical energy, such as hydro and wind. It remains to be hoped that in February there will be enough atmospheric movement to bring the much-desired rain or even that the spring will be ‘rainly’ rich.

And in the Archipelagos?

In the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, a state of mild weather, reasonably variable, with clouds, sun and showers over the next few days. Furthermore, it is worth noting the wind, which in general will blow strong.