Ora Pois: In Lisbon, it rained in 24 hours, almost what was expected for the whole of December

The intense rain that caused a series of damages in Lisbon last Tuesday (13) meant that the city had, in just 24 hours, almost the same amount of precipitation expected for the whole of December.

Measurements released by the IPMA (Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere) indicate that the situation was recorded at three meteorological stations in the metropolitan region of Lisbon, which also had “a new absolute extreme” in the historical series.

At the station on Avenida Gago Coutinho, in the capital, the volume of precipitation in 24 hours –between 9 am on Monday (12) and 9 am on Tuesday (13)– was 120.3 mm. This result is slightly lower than the accumulated normal for the month of December, of 121.8 mm.

The accumulated rainfall for the month is also above average,

“Up to the 13th of December, in some stations, the total precipitation recorded is higher,
between 1 and a half and 2 times, the normal value for the month of December”, says the IPMA bulletin.

Although Lisbon held the record for the volume of rainfall, there was intense rainfall throughout Portugal. Some cities in Alentejo, such as Portalegre and Campo Maior, also recorded incidents related to flooding.

In greater Lisbon, torrential rains flooded roads, flooded tunnels and interrupted the circulation of train and subway lines. Several schools and universities canceled classes, and many companies stopped operating or allowed employees to work on a part-time basis. home office🇧🇷

Both the Civil Protection of Portugal and the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, asked the population to stay at home.

Once again, the neighborhood of Alcântara, close to the Tagus River, was one of the most affected. The waters flooded homes and commercial establishments, in addition to dragging cars and a large amount of debris. The region had already suffered from similar events less than a week ago, on December 8, when another strong storm hit the city.

The region of Algés, in the neighboring municipality of Oeiras, also flooded again at several points, especially in areas closer to the river.

One of the municipalities in the metropolitan region of Lisbon, Sintra interrupted, for security reasons, access to its famous mountain range. Some monuments in the city, such as the Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, were also closed to the public.

In Cascais, also in greater Lisbon, the floods caused flooding and affected the functioning of the electrical network.

According to the IPMA, the bad weather in the country was induced by the Efrain depression, which carried a mass of hot air with a lot of water vapor, which helped to give rise to heavy and persistent precipitation in several regions of the country.