“On the 9th and 10th [Saturday and Sunday], maximum temperature values will rise and remain elevated until the 11th [Monday], ranging between 30 and 38 degrees Celsius across most of the mainland territory and reaching 43 degrees Celsius in some locations, particularly in the interior of the southern region and the valleys of the Tejo and Douro rivers,” states the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) in a statement.
According to IPMA, the minimum temperature will continue to exceed 20 degrees Celsius in the interior of the North and Center regions, “extending to the southern interior over the next weekend.”
Between today and Friday, the IPMA highlights that there will be a “slight decrease in the maximum temperature values,” more noticeable on the west coast, “however, the highest values will remain in the interior of the North and Center regions.”
“The maximum temperature values, already recorded in previous episodes of hot weather, have been contributing to a heatwave that may not be interrupted in some interior locations with the temporary drop in temperature,” the note reads.
The IPMA notes that the weather in mainland Portugal is being influenced by a high-pressure system located north of the Azores region that is moving “gradually to the east/northeast, intensifying and positioning itself southwest of the British Isles” on Friday.
This situation, “together with a low-pressure region between North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, results in the transport of a hot and dry air mass over mainland Portugal from North Africa,” adds the IPMA.
