May 2011 Breaks Portugal Heat Record

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If you found yourself hiding indoors a lot last month, it is probably because it was the hottest May to ever be recorded in continental Portugal. Temperature records were first initiated in the 1930s and the May we just suffered through was the hottest to ever be recorded. The averages for this year were quite startling compared to the averages of all other years on record:

Maximum monthly temperature: 24.8ºC
Minimum monthly average: 13.1ºC
Medium monthly temperature: 19ºC

The Meteorological Institute recorded two heat waves during the last month. One was mainly felt along the northern and central coasts, with some feeling the heat south of the Tagus River. There were some sheltered areas in the Algarve and Alentejo regions that were spared the heat of this wave. This first heat wave struck between May 9th and May 19th.

The second struck the very next day, stretching from May 20th to May 30th. If you live in or visited northern Portugal, this was the extreme heat you encountered.

When you study the records, you see that Portugal typically has six May days at or above the maximum temperature of 25ºC. May 2011 brought an astounding 15 days that were much hotter than that average. Some regions also experienced some stifling tropical nights. This simply means the minimum temperature of 20ºC was met or exceeded on these nights.

Besides the heat, Portugal has endured intense rain with uncharacteristically more thunderstorms and hail occurrences. May brought a lot of flooding which has negatively affected agricultural communities.

The normal average for rainfall in May is 71.2mm. It came out to 67.2mm for May 2011.


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Published in: Portuguese Life