A gray and rainy Easter is coming. Rain and wind calm down this Thursday | Bad weather

Spring time is not yet back. The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) confirms that precipitation and wind will continue in the coming days. However, the situation becomes a little calmer from the afternoon of this Thursday, March 28th. Even so, rain is guaranteed over the Easter weekend.

“For the next few days, we will continue to experience precipitation throughout the territory. Until the 31st, there is the possibility of precipitation in the form of snow above 1000/1200 meters, in the mountains of the extreme north and in Serra da Estrela”, says Madalena Rodrigues, meteorologist on duty at IPMA.

The weather in recent days is due to the passage of the Nélson depression. “Although it does not directly influence it, the frontal waves that will pass throughout the territory are associated with it”, concludes the meteorologist.

However, it is believed that the worst is over. “This Thursday is the day we have the most precipitation. From the afternoon onwards, the precipitation calms down a little. After 8pm, precipitation and gusty wind warnings end and we will have different situations in the coming days. Showers can be occasionally strong and accompanied by thunderstorms or hail, but they are more isolated cases, with less persistent precipitation”, explains Madalena Rodrigues.

The IPMA meteorologist reinforces that the wind “will not continue with the intensity of the last few days”. On the north and central coast, highlands and, especially, in the Cape Carvoeiro area, winds can be occasionally strong “but not exceeding 40 kilometers per hour (km/h)”. However, “from 8pm on Thursday, there is a decrease in wind intensity and it becomes more moderate”.

And what will the weather be like on Easter Sunday? The IPMA states that “everything indicates that it will be a wet Easter”, especially in the North and Center. The southern region will be “more protected” but precipitation can be intense in Minho and the Central region. Still, the meteorologist emphasizes that the situation can still change and is constantly being updated.

IPMA guarantees that “this Thursday afternoon still deserves some care”. On Wednesday, Civil Protection recorded 888 incidents due to bad weather until 10:20 pm. According to Lusa, there were “falling trees, flooding and falling structures”. The most affected areas were Greater Lisbon, Setúbal, Oeste, Coimbra and the Porto Metropolitan Area. In Lisbon, several citizens recorded and published images on social media of completely flooded streets.

Text edited by Mariana Adam