The mountainous region of the Madeira archipelago will be under an orange warning on Thursday due to the forecast of heavy rain and winds, following the passage of depression Núria, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere reported today.
The rest of the archipelago’s territory will be under yellow alert until 6:00 am on Friday, particularly due to precipitation, wind and rough seas, according to a statement from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The orange warning, the second least serious on a scale of three, is issued whenever there is a situation of moderate to high risk for certain activities dependent on the meteorological situation.
The predicted weather conditions, explains IPMA, are due to depression Núria, which “will affect the Madeira archipelago on Thursday, moving slowly to the northeast and remaining positioned west of mainland Portugal until Saturday”.
The forecast is for “periods of rain or showers, sometimes heavy and accompanied by thunderstorms, until early Thursday morning”.
Due to the rainfall, the IPMA placed the mountainous region of Madeira under an orange warning between 00:00 and 06:00 on Thursday and the North Coast, South and Porto Santo under a yellow warning, in the same time period.
Southwesterly winds (moderate to strong) are also forecast until Saturday, with gusts that could reach up to 120 kilometers per hour in the highlands.
Due to the wind, an orange warning was issued in the mountainous region of Madeira, between 3:00 am and 9:00 am on Friday.
In the rest of the autonomous region, a yellow warning was issued, valid between 00:00 on Thursday and 00:00 on Friday.
Increased sea agitation is also expected, with waves that could reach 4.5 meters in height, and yellow warnings have already been issued in light of this forecast.
Also due to the passage of depression Núria, all districts of mainland Portugal will be under a yellow warning on Friday.
Periods of rain or showers are expected until Saturday, sometimes heavy and accompanied by thunderstorms, especially on Friday, says IPMA, adding that the depression will position itself at the end of Thursday to the west of the Iberian Peninsula, moving slowly to the north.
“This depression is associated with a cold frontal surface and several instability lines that will affect the weather in mainland Portugal”, indicates the IPMA.
Until Saturday, weak to moderate southerly winds are also forecast, intensifying to moderate to strong on the coast and in the highlands, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour from the end of Thursday, and snowfall at the highest points of Serra da Estrela.
Following the forecast of worsening weather conditions, the IPMA issued a yellow warning for the 18 districts between 12:00 and 18:00 on Friday, due to the sometimes heavy rain accompanied by thunder.
The IPMA also placed the districts of Setúbal, Lisbon, Leiria and Beja under yellow warning between 09:00 and 21:00 on Thursday and Faro between 03:00 and 21:00 due to the forecast of strong sea agitation, with southwest waves measuring four to 4.5 meters.
The yellow warning, the least serious on a scale of three, is issued whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the meteorological situation.