New Year’s Eve in Madeira is expected to be marked by periods of rain, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said today, stressing that the probability is in the order of 70 to 90%.
“The weather for the Madeira archipelago in the period between December 29th [today] and January 2nd [Tuesday] will be conditioned by the approach and passage of frontal swells of weak activity, associated with shallow depressions, centered approximately to the latitude of Madeira”, explains IPMA in a statement.
Therefore, precipitation is expected to occur practically every day, with alternating periods of rain, generally light, widespread throughout the archipelago from today onwards, and showers on Saturday and until mid-afternoon on Sunday, 31st of December, more frequent on the northern slopes and highlands.
“From the late afternoon of the 31st and until the 2nd [of January], periods of rain are likely to occur, with a probability of around 70 to 90% at the end of the 31st, which decreased to values of the order from 50 to 70% in the early hours of January 1st, and to values below 50% on the remaining day of the 1st, increasing, however, on the 2nd”, says the IPMA.
This weather forecast could harm the traditional fireworks display that marks the New Year in Funchal, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Madeira, at a time when hotel occupancy in the region is around 100% and the floating population will be around 90 thousand people, including passengers and crew from eight cruise ships that call at the port of the capital of Madeira on Sunday.
According to the IPMA forecast, the wind will blow weak to moderate (up to 30 km/hour) from the southern quadrant until the end of today, turning to the north-northeast and east quadrant on January 1st.
Maximum temperature values should vary between 19 and 23°C, with lower values in the highlands, where they should not exceed 15°C and with a tendency to drop slightly on Sunday.
Minimum temperature values should vary between 14 and 18°C, although they will be below 10°C in the highlands.
The IPMA also points to maritime agitation that could reach 3 to 3.5 meters in height, between mid-afternoon on Sunday and early morning on Monday, with a northwestern component.