The mountainous areas were those where it rained the most, since the arrival of the Óscar depression today, said Victor Prior, director of the IPMA Meteorological Observatory of Funchal, to JM FM radio, identifying that it was in Chão do Arieiro (1,500 meters of altitude), in the Pico Alto (1,000 m) and Monte (600 m) where values were around 100 millimeters of precipitation, namely 117, 110 and 99 millimeters, respectively. Pico do Areeiro also registered 99 millimeters.
“These values fall within the red warning that had been issued”, said Victor Prior.
As for the next few hours, the forecast of bad weather remains until early afternoon tomorrow.
“Tomorrow, when we reach the end of this situation, the values will be considerably high”, he said, adding that the period of greatest tension will be between 06:00 and 12:00, when “higher values” are expected. The night will also be very rainy, he announced.
Victor Prior also compared the current phenomenon with February 20, 2010, when a rainfall of 150 millimeters was recorded in Funchal and 400 millimeters in Areeiro, in a very short period of 8 to 10 hours and with the soil already soaked. “I believe that when we reach the end of this episode, the values, from the outset, may be slightly lower, but the interval between the duration of the rain is much longer, it is around 24 hours”, he concluded.