Extreme risk situation is likely to cause landslides, flash floods and flooding, warns the IPMA.
Anyone on the island on February 20th 2010 wilm k ow the power of nature and what heavy rain can bring. Please make sure you all stay safe, all Levada walks and Tours should be cancelled, and this is a danger to life situation.
As expected, and only now have they increased the warning for heavy rain to the red alert level.
In view of the probable occurrence of significant precipitation, with extreme values greater than 40 liters per square meter in the 1 hour interval (mm/1h) and/or above 60 mm/6h, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) issued , early in the morning, red warning valid for 24 hours, from 3 pm on Monday to 3 pm on Tuesday, for the south coast and mountainous regions of Madeira, in view of the forecast of heavy and persistent rain.
Shortly afterwards, the IPMA issued a special communiqué on the worsening weather conditions in the Madeira Archipelago, calling attention to the fact that “due to a tropical air mass with a high water vapor content, transported in the circulation of a complex depression that extends from the region south of the Azores to the archipelago of Madeira, a worsening of the weather in Madeira is expected from the afternoon of the 5th, Monday and until mid-afternoon on the 6th, Tuesday. Thus, heavy and persistent precipitation is expected, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms and strong wind, with gusts, with greater impact on the southern slopes and in the highlands, likely to cause landslides, flash floods and flooding ”, he warns. Situation to be monitored and updated whenever justified.
With regard to meteorological warnings, before the red warning comes into force, the two regions under ‘threat’ of extreme risk will be under orange warning (between 12:00 and 15:00 tomorrow), a warning that also extends to north coast of Madeira during the 27 hours that significant rain is expected, that is, between noon tomorrow and 3 pm on Tuesday. Porto Santo will also be under warning for these 27 hours, but with yellow warning.
