Reports from the Miami National Hurricane Centre (NHC), state that there is a 5 to 20% chance of the Madeiran archipelago being hit by an intense subtropical storm winds this weekend.
According to the NHC, subtropical storm “Theta” has passed through the tropical storm stage and is moving to the northeast (ENE), with an approximate speed of 17 km / h, about 1,080 km southwest of the archipelago of the Azores. If the storm maintains her current direction, the Portuguese Institute of Atmosphere and Sea (IPMA) expects bad weather to hit the archipelago of Madeira between Friday (13th) and Sunday (15th).
IPMA reports suggest that on Friday the 13th, “winds will gradually become stronger with gusts from the southwest reaching 50 km/h along the coastline, increasing to 85 km/h in mountainous regions. The island may also be affected by showers and thunderstorms.
Rain is predicted all day on Saturday, and winds are expected to intensify. Furthermore, waves are likely to reach 3 -5 metres during the day.
Subtropical storms differ from tropical storms as they have no cold or warm fronts, and strong winds and thunderstorms occur further away from the storms centre. The wind field is also less symmetric than a tropical storm.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: Maksym Ivashchenko on Unsplash
