Eleven mainland districts are today under a yellow warning due to the forecast of rain, sometimes heavy, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms, due to the effects of depression ‘Irene’, according to the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The depression will affect the weather in mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Region of Madeira, with strong winds, heavy rain and sea turbulence until the end of Wednesday, according to the IPMA.
Because of the heavy rain, the districts of Coimbra, Guarda, Viseu, Aveiro, Bragança and Braga will be under a yellow warning until 09:00 today and Lisbon, Santarém, Portalegre, Leiria and Castelo Branco until 15:00.
The IPMA has also issued a yellow warning for all mainland districts between 18:00 on Tuesday and 18:00 on Wednesday due to the forecast of persistent and sometimes heavy rain, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms.
The districts of Viseu, Évora, Porto, Guarda, Faro, Vila Real, Setúbal, Santarém, Viana do Castelo, Lisboa, Leiria, Beja, Castelo Branco, Aveiro, Coimbra, Portalegre and Braga will also be under a yellow warning on Tuesday and Wednesday due to strong winds, with gusts of up to 75 kilometers per hour (km/h) expected, and up to 95 km/h in the highlands.
The IPMA has also placed the districts of Faro, Setúbal, Lisbon, Leiria and Beja under a yellow warning between 00:00 and 18:00 on Wednesday due to sea turbulence, with southwest waves of 4 to 5 meters expected.
The eastern (São Miguel and Santa Maria) and central (S. Jorge, Faial, Pico, Graciosa and Terceira) groups are also under a yellow warning due to heavy rain.
In the eastern group, the warning will be in force until 9 p.m. today and in the central group between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. today.
Also because of the heavy rain forecast, the IPMA has issued an orange warning for the mountainous regions and the south coast of Madeira between 00:00 and 15:00 on Tuesday and a yellow warning for the north coast between 00:00 and 15:00.
The IPMA has also placed the north coast, south coast and Porto Santo under a yellow warning due to the forecast of sea turbulence (between 06:00 on Tuesday and 12:00 on Wednesday).
The south coast and mountainous regions of Madeira and Porto Santo will also be under a yellow warning due to strong winds (between 00:00 and 18:00 on Tuesday).
The IPMA issues an orange warning whenever there is a “weather situation of moderate to high risk” and a yellow warning when there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the weather situation.
On Saturday, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil – ANEPC) issued a warning to the population about the risk of flooding on the mainland due to the rain forecast.
In view of the worsening weather conditions, Civil Protection has warned of “flooding in urban areas, caused by the accumulation of rainwater due to obstruction of drainage systems or coastal overtopping”, as well as the occurrence of floods, “caused by the overflow of the bed of some watercourses, rivers and streams”.
ANEPC points to the risk of urban flooding in the Tagus River Basin and rising inflows into the Vez River, the Lima River in the north, and the Aguieira, Raiva and Fronhas system in the Mondego Basin in the central region.
