Tropical Storm Danielle, currently northwest of the Azores archipelago, has changed course and is heading towards Portugal. Rain and strong winds are expected to hit the mainland by Sunday afternoon. As reports explain, Danielle was believed to be heading for Great Britain, but has since “taken a turn” and is on her way to a country crying out for rain. This was the cyclone originally predicted by US meteorologists. It quickly lost intensity, which is why it has been downgraded to a tropical storm. By the time Danielle arrives in Portugal, it doesn’t sound like she’ll be extremely threatening. Alexandra Fonseca of IPMA, a meteorological institute, explained that the storm is “losing intensity and will continue to lose intensity”. However, the authorities are on heightened alert. Models have “a large amount of uncertainty associated” with what is likely to happen, so “very close monitoring” of this storm is ongoing. Images released by IPMA show the storm will “integrate with a depression in the North Atlantic” and arrive here as what experts call an “extratropical cyclone”. The forecast track – “which is still unstable”, Fonseca points out – shows Danielle heading north-east of the Iberian Peninsula “affecting Portugal”. Everything points to persistent, heavy rain from Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, the IPMA expert wasn’t dancing a treat as she broke the news, but almost everyone else in the country will be. Instead, he continued: “Our models show very heavy rain, the wind will also pick up from Sunday, with gusts that could reach 40-50km/h, as well as on the coast – with the arrival of the front surface – as in high ground. “In terms of wind, the model still has some uncertainty. Precipitation is a parameter that is more consistent.” Rain will remain in Portugal for a few days, he added – and even after Danielle (or what’s left of it) passes, the continent will be affected by “a very active post-frontal, continuing with rain for the next few days”. Waves will start hinting at the approaching storm from this afternoon, says an IPMA release. Sea turbulence on the west coast could see them reach between 1.5 and 2 metres. From Monday this could increase, seeing waves between 3.5 and 4 metres. The beauty of this news isn’t just that rain is on the way for a good chunk of next week, but that we’re being warned about it: time to get into the garden furniture, the hammocks, the bruised wind chimes made of flimsy bamboo? secure anything that might fly dangerously – and pot all plants firmly at the mercy of the sky. The other good news is that “Danielle will not be like Leslie” (Leslie is the strongest tropical storm to hit the Iberian Peninsula in 176 years, which left a trail of destruction in 2018, killing two people and injuring many others ). “It doesn’t look like it,” said Alexandra Fonseca, referring to the models showing Danielle losing tension. “What will arrive here will be a system with other extratropical characteristics – the species of which are already more common along our coasts.” Before Danielle’s arrival, Saturday looks like an ordinary day in paradise: clear skies, temperatures ranging between 24ºC in the northern areas, 31ºC in others and a rather rainy 36ºC in Évora. Perfect weather in other words to get settled outside the house and prepare for the RAIN… [email protected]
