“From today, we will start to notice an increase in cloudiness with medium and high clouds, with the sky becoming temporarily opaque, particularly in the central and southern regions. There’s a very low chance of scattered showers in these areas, even today,” stated a meteorologist from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
According to Maria João Frada, dust from North Africa is expected to be suspended in the air, especially later today in the central and southern regions, with a greater impact on Thursday and Friday.
“Regarding precipitation, from tomorrow [Thursday], there’s an increased likelihood of rain or showers in the early morning in the southern region, which will then extend to the central region. The north is the most sheltered from this precipitation,” she noted.
On Friday, rain or showers, accompanied by thunderstorms and locally intense conditions, are forecast across the entire mainland, with this situation likely to continue at least until Sunday.
“This situation is due to the action of a depression. Currently, we have a depression roughly to the west of Madeira, which will move southeast and pass between Madeira and the Canary Islands; this depression has been named Olivier by AEMET, the Spanish state meteorological agency, due to its impact on the Canaries. It is not very clear if a different nucleus closer to mainland Portugal will move gradually on the 10th [Thursday] northeast towards the mainland. It’s not clear that it’s this depression,” she explained.
Maria João Frada indicated some uncertainty regarding the depression.
As for temperatures, Frada mentioned a significant drop is expected, particularly on Friday.
“On the 11th [Friday], the temperature drop will be across the entire territory, with decreases possibly around 6, 7 to 8 degrees. Until then, we will continue with above-average highs. Yesterday [Tuesday], and today will also see temperatures significantly above average,” she noted.
According to IPMA’s forecasts, temperatures are expected to range between 24/25 degrees and 28, with the north and central coast reaching up to 30 degrees and areas in the interior north and center between 22 and 24 degrees.
