IPMA increases the districts under orange warning to 10 due to maritime unrest

Worsening weather conditions in the coming days, with rain and strong wind, sea agitation and snowfall, led the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority to alert the population to take preventive measures

The IPMA increased from seven to 10 the districts on the continent that will be under orange warning this Tuesday due to the forecast of strong sea agitation, with waves that can reach 12 meters.

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) had previously placed the districts of Porto, Viana do Castelo, Lisbon, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga under orange warning.

This Tuesday, the institute extended the orange warning to the districts of Faro, Setúbal and Beja due to the state of the sea.

These 10 districts will be under orange warning between 3:00 pm today and 9:00 am on Wednesday, before returning to orange warning between 3:00 am on Thursday and 00:00 am on Friday .

The North Coast of Madeira Island and Porto will also be under yellow warning between 03:00 and 09:00 today and between 06:00 and 19:00 on Thursday due to sea unrest.

The IPMA also placed the districts of Bragança, Viseu, Porto, Guarda, Faro, Vila Real, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Lisbon, Leiria, Beja, Castelo Branco, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga under yellow warning between 12:00 and 6pm on Wednesday due to the forecast of strong southwest winds, with gusts of up to 85 kilometers per hour.

The districts of Viseu, Guarda, Santarém, Lisbon, Leiria, Castelo Branco and Coimbra will also be under yellow warning between 09:00 and 18:00 on Wednesday due to persistent, sometimes heavy rain.

IPMA also issued a yellow warning for the districts of Bragança, Viseu, Porto, Guarda, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Aveiro, Coimbra and Braga due to the forecast of snowfall above 600/800 meters, with accumulation above 800/1000 meters between 09:00 today and 09:00 Wednesday.

The orange warning is issued by IPMA whenever there is a “moderate to high risk meteorological situation” and the yellow warning when there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the meteorological situation.

The worsening of weather conditions in the coming days, with rain and strong wind, sea disturbances and snowfall, led the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) to alert the population to take preventive measures.

ANEPC warns that slippery road surfaces are expected, due to the accumulation of ice, snow and the formation of water sheets, as well as snowfall in areas and altitudes “where it does not usually occur”.

In a statement, the protection also warned of possible flooding “in historically more vulnerable places” and in urban areas and recommended preventive measures to the population.

The National Maritime Authority (AMN) and the Navy also warned on Monday of the worsening of weather conditions and maritime unrest for mainland Portugal and Madeira.

The two entities ask the general population not to walk or do activities near the sea, and to avoid accessing and staying near cliffs and cliff areas.