“Today will be a day with rain showers and thunderstorms with greater impact in the center and south. This situation is due to the passage of depression Laurence, which will enter the south of mainland Portugal during the afternoon today and, therefore, we will have this situation of instability with heavy showers accompanied by hail in the center and south”, the meteorologist from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) told Lusa.

According to Pedro Sousa, the weather is expected to improve on Tuesday, with some showers still expected, but not very significant.

“From Wednesday onwards, a new depression is approaching, moving from the Atlantic to the coast of mainland Portugal, which will bring a new worsening of the weather and should remain for a few days,” he said.

Due to the bad weather, the districts of Évora, Faro, Setúbal, Santarém, Lisbon, Leiria, Beja, Castelo Branco, Coimbra and Portalegre will be under yellow warning between 12 pm and 6 pm today due to the sometimes heavy rain, which may be accompanied by thunderstorms, and occasionally hail.

The IPMA also issued a yellow warning for the district of Faro due to strong winds between 12 pm today and midnight on Tuesday.

Faro, Setúbal and Beja are still under orange warning and Lisbon and Leiria are under yellow warning due to strong sea agitation

Meteorologist Pedro Sousa also told Lusa that like the mainland, the Madeira archipelago is also being affected today, mainly by strong winds, due to depression Laurence.

The north coast of Madeira Island and Porto Santo are under a red warning until 3 pm today, the most serious, due to strong sea agitation, with a forecast of northwest waves measuring 7 to 8.5 metres, which could reach a maximum height of 16 metres.

The Madeira archipelago is also under an orange warning due to strong winds until 3:00 pm today.

“On Tuesday, the weather in Madeira will improve, but just like the mainland, it will also be affected again by another depression that is coming on Wednesday and that will bring wind and heavy rain,” he said.

The meteorologist explained to Lusa that “it is not exactly normal” for there to be so many depressions with such frequency and persistence in the month of March.

“It is not a situation that happens every year, especially in the month of March, but we also cannot say that it is abnormal, that it has never happened. It happens every few years and can occur at times other than fall, winter or spring,” he said.

When asked about the reasons for the occurrence and persistence of depression, Pedro Sousa said there was nothing very specific that could explain it.

“It has to do with the positioning of the pieces of the atmospheric puzzle, I use the metaphor. The anticyclone is in a slightly unusual position and with some persistence and for this reason, it ends up opening the way for these Atlantic depressions in a position further south than normal and as I said it is persisting a little longer than is normal at this time of year”, he said.