It hasn’t rained so much in Funchal’s mountains for over 60 years

The Madeirans no longer remember so many rainy days, with such intensity. 

In the last 24 hours, Areeiro (452 ​​mm), Bica da Cana (268 mm), Monte (245 mm), Pico Alto (242 mm) and São Vicente (259 mm) stations recorded record rainfall.

According to the delegation in Madeira of the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere, “the criteria relating to the classification of the intensity of the different forms of liquid precipitation, is considered a violent downpour when the precipitation is greater than 50 mm / hour.

Thus, the value recorded yesterday between 19:00 and 19:10 UTC (19.1 mm), corresponds to the value of 114.6 mm / hour, so we can easily infer that it was a very violent downpour ”.

It is necessary to go back to February 22, 1956 to find higher values ​​in the records of the Meteorological Observatory of Funchal. That day at Areeiro station registered 40 mm in 10 minutes and 240 mm in one hour.

With reference to the tragedy of February 20, 2010, the highest values ​​were in Areeiro (15.4 mm in 19 minutes and 92.4 mm in one hour), with Funchal then recording 11.0 mm in 10 minutes and 66 , 0 mm in an hour, therefore, well below the value that was recorded yesterday.

The wind also caused havoc in some parts of the island. But it was at the airport that the biggest blast occurred; 122 km / hour. Wind that was felt with great intensity in Areeiro (118), Lombo da Tuesday (109), Ponta do Pargo (107) and Porto Santo (70).