As expected, said Victor Prior, the Regional Delegate of the Portuguese Institute of Atmosphere and Sea, the regions mountainous regions have been the most affected by Storm Oscar. So far the highest levels of rainfall have been recorded at Chão do Arieiro (1,500 meters of altitude), Pico Alto (1,000 m), and Monte (600 m) that the values were around 100 millimeters of precipitation, namely 117, 110, and 99 millimetres, respectively. Pico do Areeiro also recorded 99 millimeters. “These figures,” said Victor Prior, “fall within the red storm warning category.”
As for the next few hours, the forecast of bad weather remains until tomorrow in the early afternoon.
“Tomorrow, when we reach the end of this situation, the values will be considerably high,” he said, adding that the period of greatest precipitation will be between 06:00 and 12:00, when “higher values” are expected. Heavy rain is also expected tonight.
Victor Prior also compared the current phenomenon with the 20th of February 2010 storm, where 150 millimeters of rain was recorded in Funchal, and 400 millimeters in Areeiro, which fell in a very short period of 8 to 10 hours on already soaked soils. He went on to say, “I believe that when we get to the end of this episode the values, at first, maybe slightly lower, but the duration of the storm is much longer, being around 24 hours.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: JM
