Four districts on orange warning. Mainland Portugal under yellow warning
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) today raised the warning in force for the districts of Setúbal, Santarém, Lisbon, Leiria to orange due to heavy rain forecast for midnight on Sunday.
On its official page, IPMA mentions that these four mainland districts will be under orange warning between 00:00 and 03:00 on Sunday, while in the district of Portalegre it will be active between 03:00 and 06:00, due to to the forecast of heavy and persistent rain.
However, the IPMA raised, since the beginning of the morning today, for the 18 districts of mainland Portugal under yellow warning due to the forecast of snowfall, persistent rain, strong winds, and also maritime intention.
The yellow warnings in the districts of Beja, Lisbon, Leiria, Faro and Setúbal are active between 21:00 today and until 06:00 on Sunday and refer to situations of persistent and sometimes strong rain and wind, with gusts of around 75km/hour.
During the early hours of Sunday, orange warnings are active in these districts.
In the district of Évora, the yellow warning for rain and wind starts at 00:00 today and lasts until 06:00 on Sunday, with heavy and persistent rain and wind gusts of around 75 km/hour expected. .
The IPMA predicts for the districts of Santarém and Portalegre heavy and persistent rain, having triggered the yellow warning between 00:00 today and 06:00 on Sunday.
The districts of Braga, Castelo Branco, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Guarda, Viseu, and Bragança, from Sunday, due to the forecast of snowfall above 1,100 meters, with gravity above 1,200 meters, which could be 5 cm .
As probable, the IPMA refers to “disturbance caused by snowfall with impediment and possible formation of ice (for example on conditioned or prohibited roads, damage to structures or trees, impaired local supplies)”.
The orange warning is the second most serious on a scale of four and implies a meteorological situation of moderate to high risk, while the yellow warning is issued by the IPMA whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the meteorological situation.
The IPMA also placed the districts of Porto, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Lisbon, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga under yellow warning due to maritime obligation, between 03:00 and 09:00 on Sunday (in Lisbon) and after the eight districts between 09:00 and 21:00 on Monday, due to the swell that could reach five meters.
Lisbon Chamber launches alert
The Lisbon Chamber warned at the end of Friday of the “persistent and sometimes heavy” rain expected on Saturday night and asked the population to take precautions.
“Considering that the IPMA placed the district of Lisbon under yellow warning, with the most critical period between 22:00 on the 10th of December and 06:00 on the 11th, when persistent and sometimes heavy rain is expected, the City Council de Lisboa appeals to the population for me to be concerned”, indicated the municipality in a statement.
In the same note, the chamber said that the city’s Civil Protection agents, municipal operational services and elements of the Parish Councils “are on standby for the promptest response to the city”.
This alert from the Lisbon municipality comes after the city was expected by bad weather on Wednesday night, with the municipalities of Lisbon, Loures, Odivelas, Amadora and Oeiras being those that threatened more damage after the heavy rain that fell.
Several floods cut roads, tunnels, access to transport stations and damaged commercial establishments, homes and vehicles, causing high damage.
There is a record of the death of a woman in Algés, in the municipality of Oeiras, and dozens of people displaced.
Red alert in the Azores
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) raised this Saturday to red the maritime motivation warning for the islands of the western group of the Azores archipelago – Flores and Corvo.
According to the IPMA page, the islands of Flores and Corvo are between 12:00 this Saturday and 00:00 on Sunday under warning, with waves from the southwest with a height of 10 meters being expected, significant red, with the maximum wave possible reach 20 meters.
The president of the Civil Protection of the Azores on Friday asked the population of the western group of the archipelago to stay at home due to forecasts of bad weather, in particular the stay at sea and the wind.
“In the Western group, we are going to have a somewhat severe maritime attempt. The alert is orange, but it is very close to red [aquando das declarações o alerta ainda era amarelo]🇧🇷 It warns the population not to go near the seafront or unprotected places, where there may be strong wind. Stay at home,” said Eduardo Faria, president of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service, in statements made available to the Lusa agency.
The official spoke about the Efrain depression that led the IPMA to place the new islands of the archipelago with several warnings, some of them orange, corresponding to meteorological situations of “moderate to high risk”.
In the Central group (Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Graciosa and Faial), the Civil Protection’s “concern” is “heavy rain and wind”, so the recommendation is that the population “avoid places of danger”, according to with Civil Protection.
The Eastern group (São Miguel and Santa Maria) will also be under orange warning for “precipitation and strong wind”, said the official.
Eduardo Faria explained that, in the Central group, contacts have already been made with all municipal emergency services and with firefighters “to have security teams on the picket lines”.
“The recommendation is that people should pack loose objects, be careful with the cleaning of the roads and around the houses, and pay close attention to streams or water lines, as it is very likely that they overflow”, he said.
The precautions must also cover “water tables and flooded roads that can hide dangers”.
“If you absolutely have to leave your house, walk next to buildings or use objects – for example wooden handles – to see if there are any dangers in the area. There is also a chance of a strong thunderstorm, so be careful with places with trees , antennas and even the use of umbrellas”, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the captain of the Port of Santa Cruz das Flores, determined the closure of all navigation from Porto da Casa, on the island of Corvo.
The National Maritime Authority says that, in the Azores, the maritime organization will have “a significant height that can reach 12 meters and a maximum height of 22 meters, with an average period that can vary between 14 and 16 seconds”, being expected winds “with an average intensity of up to 93 kilometers per hour and gusts up to 168 kilometers per hour”.