Guarda and Castelo Branco Go Orange for Heavy Rain and Thunderstorms Until 06:00 on Monday, With Yellow Warnings Across the Mainland
IPMA has put Guarda and Castelo Branco on orange for heavy rain with thunderstorms from midnight to 06:00 on Monday 9 November, in the spell brought by depression Bruna. Most other mainland districts are on yellow. What civil protection advises.
The Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere) has raised the districts of Guarda and Castelo Branco to an orange warning for rain from midnight to 06:00 on Monday 9 November. It expects periods of heavy rain with thunderstorms, in the unsettled spell that depression Bruna has brought to Portugal.
These are the only orange warnings on the mainland, according to IPMA's warning data read late on Sunday. Orange is the second-highest of IPMA's four levels, for weather of moderate to high risk. Both districts stay on yellow either side of the orange spell: yellow for rain from 21:00 on Sunday in Castelo Branco, and yellow for rain and thunderstorms in both districts until 09:00 on Monday.
What residents should do tonight
The Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil (ANEPC, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority) issued its warning to the population for Bruna on 6 November (in Portuguese). It warns of flooding in towns where drains block, slow-draining waterlogged ground, landslides and falling rocks on slopes, and standing water on roads. Its advice includes:
- Never drive or walk through flooded roads. The water can hide holes in the road and open drain covers, and can carry people and cars away.
- Keep away from rivers and streams, especially where they have flooded before, and do not park in places that usually flood.
- Clear gutters and drains, and move animals, vehicles and equipment out of flood-prone spots.
- Take care near trees, particularly beside rivers, where branches and trees can fall.
- Drive defensively and slow down, watching for sheets of water on the road.
- Follow IPMA's forecasts and the instructions of civil protection and the police.
In an emergency, call 112.
The rest of the mainland
Every other mainland district is on a yellow warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms into Monday morning, according to IPMA:
- Rain and thunderstorms until 06:00 on Monday: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu (until 09:00 in Bragança). From Santarém and Lisbon southwards the yellow spell began at about 19:00 on Sunday.
- Wind: gusts of up to 75 km/h in Beja, Faro, Leiria, Lisbon and Setúbal until 06:00 on Monday, and up to 80 km/h, mainly on high ground, in Braga and Viana do Castelo from midnight to 21:00 on Monday.
- More rain from Monday evening: new yellow warnings for heavy rain and thunderstorms start at 18:00 on Monday in the north (Braga, Porto, Viana do Castelo and Vila Real) and at 21:00 in the centre, Lisbon, Santarém and Setúbal. They run until midday or the afternoon of Tuesday, and to 18:00 on Tuesday in Guarda and Castelo Branco.
- Rough seas: waves of 4 to 5 metres on the west coast from Monday evening until early Wednesday, with yellow warnings for every coastal district from Viana do Castelo to Faro.
- Wednesday: IPMA already has yellow warnings for heavy, persistent rain between 12:00 and 18:00 on Wednesday 11 November in Beja, Castelo Branco, Évora, Faro, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarém and Setúbal, with gusts of up to 75 km/h in Beja, Faro and Setúbal.
Warnings change as forecasts are updated, so check IPMA's warning map before you travel. ANEPC warned on Saturday that Bruna's rain would reach the mainland on Sunday, after the storm put all of Madeira on orange on Saturday night.
