In Santa Cruz it did not drop below 21ºC and reached 22.6ºC during the night.
Last night, from Friday to Saturday, was the most tropical of the year in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, with high night-time temperatures in coastal areas. The highlight was Santa Cruz/Aeroporto, where the thermometer did not drop below 21ºC — the minimum temperature recorded — between sunset on Friday and sunrise this Saturday, a period in which the maximum value reached 22.6ºC.
According to data from the network of meteorological stations of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) in the Madeira Archipelago, in addition to Santa Cruz, five other seaside stations recorded minimum temperatures equal to or above 20 ºC, thus configuring the phenomenon known as ‘tropical night’. These were the cases of Funchal/Observatório, with a minimum of 20.5 ºC (22.7 ºC maximum); Funchal/Lido, with a minimum of 20.7 ºC (22.4 ºC); Ponta do Sol/Lugar de Baixo, which recorded a minimum of 20.1 ºC (21.5 ºC); Porto Moniz, with a minimum of 20.2 ºC (21.6 ºC); and Selvagem Grande, where the minimum was 20.0 ºC (20.9 ºC).
In Porto Santo, the night was very close to being considered tropical, as the temperature dropped slightly below 20 ºC between 5:00 am and 6:00 am, although during the night the thermometers reached 21.7 ºC.
These records confirm the persistence of nocturnal heat, a situation associated with atmospheric conditions that favour the maintenance of high temperatures even at night, a phenomenon that is increasingly frequent in the summer months in the Region.