Cyclone Alpha, which is at 19:30 hitting land in the Leiria region, will rise to the North but should pass by the districts of Braga and Viana do Castelo, O MINHO source from IPMA said.
According to Ricardo Tavares, a meteorologist, this rare phenomenon in Portugal is entering land in the region of Leiria, and, in the next few hours, it should go up to the Porto / Vila Real axis, but without direct passage through Minho lands.
“The tendency is that the cyclone suffers a loss of activity after entering land, and must then climb up to the area of Porto and Vila Real. It can affect the Minho region, but we thought it would be nothing too serious, due to the loss of activity that will suffer ”, said the expert.
Foto: National Hurricane Center
–
For Braga and Viana do Castelo, strong periods of precipitation and some wind are expected, but “nothing very serious”.
Ricardo Tavares confirms that this situation “requires some caution”, namely through the verification of meteorological warnings for the Minho area.
“If there is a change in our forecasts for the Minho area, we will issue a warning”, he assured.
The meteorologist confirmed that the passage of this cyclone is “something very rare on our coast”.
The IPMA reported today that “the depression centered near the coast of the district of Leiria, gained subtropical characteristics during the afternoon, revealing an organized structure in the satellite images”.
The National Hurricane Center, in the United States, contacted the IPMA to “make a joint assessment of the situation”. The cyclone was named Alpha.
According to the projections, “after entering the land, it should quickly lose intensity”.
“With the approach of the depression to the coast, it was possible to monitor the cyclone with the aid of the radar system, making it possible to identify very high winds in altitude, but relatively close to the surface”.
“It was decided to raise the warning level to orange for warnings of wind, precipitation and thunderstorms in the directly affected districts, Leiria and Coimbra”, until 23:59.
IPMA also advises that the Portuguese follow the forecasts and warnings through the official page of that institute [ver aqui].
–
