Monchique registered the strongest gusts of wind anywhere in mainland Portugal over the weekend, as post-tropical cyclone Gabrielle swept across the country, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
At 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, the Monchique meteorological station at the mountain’s peak, Fóia, recorded gusts of 101 kilometres per hour.
While the Algarve bore dark clouds and strong winds, the heaviest rainfall was felt in the north, particularly at Porto S. Gens, Vila Real and Aveiro. Offshore, sea swells reached dangerous levels, with Nazaré recording waves of up to nine metres, while significant wave heights of between 5.3 and 6.7 metres were measured off Leixões and Sines. A yellow weather warning for coastal areas remained in force until the end of Sunday.
IPMA has forecast an improvement in conditions from today, with rising temperatures, clearer skies and decreasing winds.
Storm Gabrielle made landfall in mainland Portugal on Saturday, triggering yellow and orange weather warnings across several regions. The city of Porto was placed under a red alert on Sunday due to torrential rain.
Between midnight and 7 a.m., the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) recorded 129 incidents, the majority in the north. Flooding accounted for most of the cases, alongside reports of fallen trees and collapsed structures. Despite the disruption, no injuries were reported, mirroring the impact of the storm in the Azores earlier in the week.
By Sunday evening, Gabrielle had crossed into Spain via Castelo Branco and Portalegre. Spanish authorities reported severe flooding across Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon, with as much as 100 litres of rain per square metre falling in just a few hours. Rescue services evacuated drivers from submerged vehicles, while rivers overflowed in Valencia and Zaragoza.
Spain’s weather agency issued red alerts for coastal Valencia, Tarragona and Castellón, leading to the suspension of classes and non-essential activities in more than 60 municipalities, affecting around 25,000 children. Train services and metro lines faced delays, and several motorways were cut off by floodwaters.
The storm first struck the Azores archipelago, where around 200 incidents were reported and 16 people forced from their homes. Although initially forecast to reach the islands as a Category 1 hurricane, Gabrielle weakened to a post-tropical depression before landfall.
Authorities across Portugal and Spain have highlighted the increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the region, with scientists pointing to climate change as a driving factor.
