Storm Irene to ruin Easter - Algarve escapes the worst

A new storm is on its way with a dramatic change in the weather over the next few days.

 

The pattern of the coming storm is the same as the one in March, with depressions and cold fronts crossing the mainland.

In the midst of these depressions, there may be some stronger ones, which will give rise to the naming of 'Storm Irene,’ if wind speeds warrant it.

 

Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday there will be hail, thunderstorms and heavy rain, especially in the centre and the north of the country. The moderate to strong wind will bring colder air and snow on high ground.

 

The happy exception to the coming torrents will be the Algarve which should escape the worst but where daytime temperatures will drop to 16ºC, higher than in the rest of the country but depressingly lower than today’s 22ºC.

 

Friday’s rain and wind will give way to an Easter Sunday marked with bad weather, hopefully not so bad as to warrant the naming of Irene. 

 

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) is convinced that the depression will not be strong enough to force it to give the bad weather an official name.
 
"Normally, meteorological institutes baptise a storm when wind speed triggers an orange alert. Given the data we have at the moment, I do not think this will be the case with this depression," said the IPMA spokesman.

 

Today's communiqué issued by the IPMA for the next few days, show minimum temperatures below 10ºC in mainland Portugal - in the northern and central interior highlands this could fall to -3ºC – and maximum temperatures varying between 15ºC and 18ºC.

 

On Saturday, the weather will calm down with less wind and with rain falling only during the morning with none  predicted for the Algarve.

 

On Sunday, the clouds will return and a mass of cooler air will bring more rain and more wind but the generally cold and patchy weather is set to persist until April 8th when at last we can get the shorts out.