The next couple of days are going to be very difficult. Take note of the warnings, and stay safe.
This morning at 11.30 an emergency meeting will take place, this could well result in the announcement of schools being closed, as there are many posts on social media about this, and people remember back to February 20th 2010.
The south coast and the mountainous regions of the island of Madeira will be under red warning today and Tuesday due to the forecast of heavy and persistent rain due to the passage of the Oscar depression, according to the IPMA. The forecast that came from yesterday, remains in the most recent update, made at 7:17 am.
It should be remembered that the red warning, the most serious on a scale of three, will be in effect between 3 pm today and 3 pm on Tuesday.
The IPMA also issued an orange warning for the north coast, south coast and mountainous regions of Madeira due to heavy rain between 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm today, and for Porto Santo until 9:00 am today, then changing to yellow until 3:00 pm of today.
The north coast, south coast and mountainous regions of the island of Madeira and Porto Santo will also be under yellow warning due to the forecast of sometimes strong winds from the south quadrant, with gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour until 3 pm today.
The orange warning indicates a moderate to high risk weather situation and the yellow warning is issued whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the weather situation.
At the origin of the bad weather forecast for the Madeira archipelago is the Oscar depression.
According to a statement from the IPMA, “the name Oscar was assigned by AEMet (Spain’s state meteorological agency)” to the “complex depression” that is expected to hit the islands of Madeira, and will have an impact on the mainland from Wednesday, but with less intensity.
Due to this worsening weather situation, the Civil Protection of Madeira recommends that trips to the affected areas and circulation through areas where there are degraded buildings be avoided, due to the risk of landslides.
It also asks that due attention be given to assembled structures, scaffolding cases, awnings, screens and roofs, which can be affected by gusts of wind and possible falling trees.
It also advises defensive driving, reducing speed and taking care with the formation of water sheets, in addition to clearing rainwater drainage systems and removing aggregates and other objects that can be dragged or create obstacles to the free flow of water
The civil authority also advises against walking routes, especially in mountainous areas, exposed slopes and coastal areas.