The effects of Storm/ Depression Kristin are still being felt in the interior regions of Castelo Branco and Guarda, but the situation is slowly improving as the storm is already reaching Spain, a source from Portugal’s national meteorological institute IPMA has told Lusa.
“(The depression) is already practically in Spain, although there is still some wind, mainly in the southern region and in the more inland regions, such as Castelo Branco and Guarda. In the rest of the territory, it seems that the worst is over and the situation is likely to improve throughout the morning,” said meteorologist Patrícia Marques.
Speaking before 8am, Marques explained that the central region is the one that has been most affected.
“It is practically out of mainland Portugal. We still have a very strong westerly current passing through the southern region, which is still causing very strong winds,” she added.
During the night, the national meteorological institute recorded wind gusts of 150 kilometres per hour (km/h) in Cabo Carvoeiro.
At Leiria aerodrome, gusts of 142 km/h were recorded, and in Ancião, 146 km/h.
In the Algarve, at around 7.30 am, “very intense” gusts continued to be recorded, with Faro registering 100 km/h and the Algarve mountains reaching a figure of up to 130 kilometres per hour.
The Kristin depression was felt mainly between 3.30am and 6am in the centre and, from 7am onwards, more inland.
Kristin came hot on the heels of two other storms – Ingrid and Joseph – which also added to the exceptionally wet winter the country has been having.
Civil Protection meantime remains on special alert for level 4 – the maximum – along the entire coastline between Viana do Castelo and Setúbal.
IPMA has classified Kristin as an “explosive cyclogenesis”, (‘a weather bomb’) a term used for depressions of high intensity, both in wind and rain.
Source: LUSA
