Snowy weekend brings yellow warning to ten districts of mainland Portugal | Meteorology

Ten districts of mainland Portugal will be under yellow warning due to snowfall from 12pm on Saturday, while seven districts will be under orange warning due to forecast sea unrest, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

According to a statement released this Friday by IPMA, Porto, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, Aveiro and Braga will be under yellow warning due to snow between 12pm on Saturday and 9am on Sunday. The alert for Bragança, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco and Coimbra is in effect between 12pm and 9pm on Saturday.

For the ten districts, the alert is for snowfall above 700 to 900 meters, with accumulation of up to five centimeters above 1000 to 1100 meters.

IPMA also warned of likely impacts such as “disturbance caused by snowfall with accumulation and possible formation of ice”, conditioning or closing roads, causing damage to structures or trees or harming local supplies.

For Castelo Branco and Guarda, IPMA said that snow accumulation could exceed ten centimeters in the highest points of Serra da Estrela.

Seven districts on the continent will be under orange warning on Saturday due to the forecast of sea unrest, with waves expected from the northwest with five to six meters, also according to IPMA. The districts of Porto, Viana do Castelo, Lisbon, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga start with a yellow warning between 9pm this Friday and 6am on Saturday, then turning to orange until 00am on Sunday. These seven districts then go under yellow warning again between 00:00 and 12:00 on Sunday, also due to the waves. The IPMA also issued a yellow warning of maritime unrest for the districts of Beja, Faro and Setúbal between 6am on Saturday and 12pm on Sunday.

The Navy and the National Maritime Authority (AMN) warned the population and the maritime community to be vigilant due to the forecast of strong waves that could reach 13 meters.

In a statement, the two authorities indicate that the wind and sea forecast points to a worsening of weather conditions and sea disturbances on the western coast of mainland Portugal until 00:00 on Sunday.

The Navy and the Maritime Authority ask that walks near the sea be avoided, the practice of recreational activities in areas exposed to maritime agitation and that the mooring of moored vessels be reinforced.

The sea agitation will be characterized by swells coming from the Northwest, with a significant height that could reach seven meters and a maximum height of 13 meters and the wind could register an average intensity of up to 56 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 101 kilometers per hour , is referred to.