Portugal is preparing for a second powerful storm less than a week after Storm Kristin killed six people and left widespread destruction, with authorities urging residents to stockpile supplies for at least 72 hours.
Mere days after Storm Kristin it has been announced by forecasters that Storm Leonardo is set to bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and rough seas to Portugal over the coming days, with the most severe impacts expected between Wednesday and Thursday.
The National Republican Guard (GNR) has issued detailed recommendations for emergency preparedness, including assembly of survival kits containing drinking water, three days of non-perishable food, torches, battery-operated radios, power banks, first aid supplies and waterproof document storage.
Authorities advised residents to avoid unstable trees, damaged structures and fallen power lines, exercise extreme caution when using heating systems, and operate generators exclusively outdoors to prevent toxic gas accumulation.
Weather conditions in mainland Portugal will be affected from Tuesday afternoon through to Saturday by Storm Leonardo, with forecasts pointing to persistent and at times heavy rain, snowfall, strong winds and significant maritime agitation, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
In a statement released today, IPMA revealed that the mainland will begin to feel the effects of the depression from Tuesday late afternoon, initially through the approach of ‘an associated frontal system’ to the Lower Alentejo and the Algarve. This will bring persistent rainfall, occasionally heavy, and wind gusts that may reach 75 kilometres per hour along the coast south of Cape Mondego and up to 95 kilometres per hour in highland areas.
The storm is expected to gradually extend upwards to the rest of the country throughout Wednesday.
IPMA forecasts that “the period with the highest accumulated rainfall and the strongest winds will occur overnight from Wednesday to Thursday”, after which conditions will gradually shift to less drastic showers. These showers may include hail and thunderstorms, with snowfall expected above 1,500–1,600 metres, with the snow line gradually lowering to between 1,200 and 1,400 metres.
Winds are expected to ease temporarily between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the institute added.
According to forecasts, the highest accumulated rainfall totals are likely in mountainous areas of the North and Centre of the country, where totals between Tuesday and Saturday could “reach 150 to 250 millimetres in some locations”.
Sea conditions will also be severe during this period, with waves from the west reaching up to six metres along the western coast, and “maximum wave heights of up to 11 metres”, although a temporary decrease is expected between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
In light of these conditions, IPMA has issued orange warnings, the second most severe level, as well as yellow warnings for “rainfall, snow, wind gusts, and maritime agitation”.
An orange warning indicates a situation of moderate to high meteorological risk, while a yellow warning signals a risk for “certain weather-dependent activities”.
The new storm arrives as Portugal continues recovery efforts from Depression Kristin, which struck last week with winds reaching 202 kilometres per hour and killed six people across multiple districts.
Kristin broke Portugal's national wind speed record, previously set at 176.4 kilometres per hour during Storm Leslie in October 2018.
The storm left widespread damage including destroyed buildings, downed power lines and approximately 1 million customers without electricity at its peak.
Source: IPMA / GNR
