Winter started this Sunday “just like Winter”, with lots of snow, cold and rain. Christmas brings even colder weather.
Winter arrived with force this Sunday, December 21st, with a not hellish scenery, but very wintery in several areas of the North and Center of mainland Portugal: snow on roads, pine trees and mountains, and temperatures dropping to values close to or even below 0 ºC in inland areas.
The change of season coincided with the influence of a maritime polar air massresponsible for precipitation in the form of snow at lower elevations and for increasing the cold. The situation had been anticipated by meteorological warnings and ended up being confirmed in the early hours of the morning, with visible records in different regions.
In Serra da Estrela, as we are used to, the dawn in Penhas da Saúde came with a blanket of white.
The white landscape was repeated in other parts of the country, such as in the municipality of Montalegre, in the district of Vila Real, and in several locations in the district of Viseu.
Also in Gerês, the transition from autumn to winter was visible.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) placed 11 districts under orange warningthe second highest, due to snowfall and sea disturbances. These are the districts of Braga, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu, which were on orange alert for snowfall until 09:00, with “conditioned or closed roads, damage to structures or trees and impaired local supplies” expected, and also Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Leiria, Lisbon, Porto and Viana do Castelo — all with forecasts of “northwest waves with five to six meters and a maximum height of 10 meters”.
And at Christmas?
The first big snowfall that has ever hit the country is expected to continue at least until Tuesdayaccording to IPMA.
Christmas will arrive with an equally wintery scenario in the country, marked by snow, rain, wind and falling temperatures.
On the North and Central coast, rain will be frequent and intense on the 22nd and 23rd, with wind. From 24 onwards, it becomes very cold, which is expected to remain until the weekend.
On the 25th, Bragança could reach -2 ºC and Guarda at -1 ºC.
