Portugal will feel the effects of the Ciaran depression in the next few hours, but the storm will not directly affect the country.

Mainland Portugal will feel the effects of the Ciaran depression in the early hours and morning of Thursday with rainfall and sometimes strong winds, but the storm will not directly affect the national territory, IPMA said this Wednesday.

According to the IPMA (Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere) statement, “the Ciaran trench will not have a direct impact on mainland Portugal, although the cold frontal surface associated with it is expected to pass through the continental area in the early hours and morning of the 2nd.”

The forecast points to rainfall in the coming hours, “sometimes heavy”, especially in the north and center of the country, the note added.

On Thursday there will also be “an increase in wind strength, which will blow strongly along the coast of the northern and central regions with gusts of up to 90 km/h, and in the highlands with gusts of up to 110 km.” /h”, and may even exceed this value at the highest points of the Serra da Estrela, IPMA also emphasizes.

Significant increases in sea conditions are also expected on the west coast, with waves from the northwest “reaching significant heights of five to seven meters and temporarily exceeding seven meters.”

In the Madeira region, the effect of the Ciarão Trench will be felt through increased sea waves, which from this period will come from the northwest with a significant height of four to five meters.

Due to this weather situation, IPMA advises to monitor weather forecasts and warnings.

France, England and other Western European countries could face some of the strongest winds in decades as Storm Ciarão approaches the coast, meteorologists warned this Wednesday.

In France, Météo-France warned of exceptional winds with gusts of around 145 km/h in Brittany, Normandy and the Loire countries. In the far north-west of the country, winds of up to 170 km/h and waves of almost 10 meters are expected.

In the United Kingdom, the British Met Office issued a severe weather warning for winds of about 130 km/h or more in coastal areas between Wednesday evening and Thursday. The Channel Islands and eastern England will bear the brunt of the wind and rain, but much of the south and south east will also suffer from stronger than normal winds and rain.

The Met Office’s Rachel Ayers said the power outages could have been caused by falling trees, traffic restrictions and train closures.

The last time strong winds of this level were recorded in the UK was during Storm Eunice in February 2022, but a meteorologist warns Storm Ciarán could cause even more damage.