Mainland Portugal will be affected this weekend by a mass of polar maritime air that will cause snowfall at lower altitudes and temperatures near or below 0ºC in the interior North and Central regions.
In a statement, IPMA – the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere – explained that the weather in mainland Portugal will be influenced, between December 19 and 21, by a “vast low-pressure area located between Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula”.
This situation will be characterised by the passage of associated cold fronts and the subsequent transport of a mass of polar maritime air over the continent starting on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, “heavy rainfall is expected at times, gradually decreasing from the early morning hours onwards from the west coast inland.”
From the afternoon onwards, rainfall will be light and infrequent, limited to regions along the eastern border, and from Saturday morning periods of rain are expected on the North and Central coast, extending to the remaining regions throughout the day, turning into showers.
The showers will continue on the 21st and may include hail in some areas of the North and Central regions, the institute adds.
IPMA warns that precipitation will occur in the form of snow above 1400/1600 meters altitude, with a sharp drop in altitude expected from late Saturday afternoon to 800/1000 meters.
IPMA also stated that minimum temperatures will be close to or below 0°C in the interior North and Central regions, and higher in the remaining regions, with the highest temperatures recorded in the coastal strip of the Central and Southern regions, in the order of 10 to 12°C.
Maximum temperatures are expected to range between 10 and 16°C, falling below 10°C in the interior North and Central regions.
“Conditions will be favorable for ice formation on roads in the higher regions of the North and Center,” IPMA adds.
The institute also pointed to the strong sea swell expected on the west coast, with northwest waves between 4 and 6 meters high.
Source: LUSA
