Lisbon shut down. Then the storm split in two

Storm Charles turned out far weaker than forecast in Lisbon, though its rain still flooded parts of the city. It’s Thursday, 12 November. Nineteen degrees. Air quality: around 30 (Good). Here’s what you need to know.

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STORM CHARLES SPARES LISBON THE WORST, AND MORE RAIN IS ON THE WAY

Lisbon shut down for a storm that mostly went elsewhere. Charles split into two separate low-pressure centres as it approached, something the weather models hadn’t predicted, and that weakened its winds. It also tracked much further south than expected, eventually reaching Morocco. Gusts in Lisbon peaked at around 75 to 80 km/h (47 to 50 mph), far below the 120 to 140 km/h (75 to 87 mph) in the red warning. By the afternoon, Lisbon, Setúbal and Beja had been downgraded to orange, and by evening there were no red warnings left on the mainland.

The rain was another matter. Lisbon had 74 mm in six hours, above the lower threshold for a red rain warning, and low-lying parts of the city struggled to drain. The city’s firefighters logged 275 weather-related call-outs between midnight and 4:30pm, with no casualties reported. Nationally, Civil Protection counted 1,630 incidents, almost half of them floods, and its commander said the storm had been much less serious than forecast. Close to 400 flights were cancelled at Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira, and Web Summit lost its entire Wednesday programme. The conference wraps up today.

A weather analyst who has studied forecast models for more than 20 years called it the biggest forecasting miss he had seen so close to an event, with the storm’s path off by hundreds of kilometres less than 12 hours out. He was also clear that this was a failure of the models, not of the authorities. IPMA, the national weather service, Civil Protection and the government all acted on the best forecasts they had.

The weather isn’t done. After a break from Friday to part of Sunday, a new run of Atlantic storms is due from late Sunday, bringing rain that’s expected to last three days, with strong wind and big seas. This time the north and the west coast are expected to take the brunt, with Leiria, Coimbra and Porto named as areas to watch. Between 100 and 150 mm of rain could fall over three days, mostly in the north and the mountains, with gusts of up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and waves of up to five metres. Forecasters expect unsettled weather until at least 18 November, but nothing on the scale once feared from Charles.

Bottom line: Lisbon got the rain but not the wind, the shutdown was based on the best forecasts available, and next week’s storms are expected to hit the north harder than the capital.

⚡ QUICK HITS

AIMA has rebooked every appointment cancelled by the storm. The immigration and residency agency closed its offices on Wednesday along with other public services, and everyone with an appointment that day has been given a new one. The new date, time and place have been sent by email. AIMA says there’s no need to request another appointment or take any other action. Anyone who hasn’t received the email should check their spam folder.

The housing camp is taking its protest to Web Summit’s final day. The Lisbon encampment, which called off a planned protest on Wednesday because of the storm, has set up “Camp Summit”, a mock version of the conference with a tent as its logo. It meets at 5:30pm today on Alameda dos Oceanos, outside the Vasco da Gama shopping centre near the Web Summit entrance, before moving to Oriente station for debates and its usual assembly. Protesters say the council wants to sell 10 public plots for €60m, which they say is about what it has spent on Web Summit over the years. It’s still unclear where the camp will settle, after Mayor Carlos Moedas offered three alternatives to Rossio. A separate housing march, organised by the Casa Para Viver platform, is planned for Saturday.

Doctors are joining next Friday’s public sector strike. The National Federation of Doctors has signed up to the national strike on Friday 20 November, called by the Frente Comum, the umbrella group of public sector unions, ahead of the final vote on the 2027 budget. The doctors’ strike runs from midnight to midnight and covers the public, social and private sectors, with emergency care, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis and transplants guaranteed. The Portuguese Nurses’ Union has also joined. A similar strike in October last year closed schools and postponed appointments and surgeries.

A heart-shaped island on the Minho is for sale for €6m. The 47-hectare Ilha da Boega sits in the river opposite Vila Nova de Cerveira and is known locally as the Island of Lovers. It has no infrastructure and can only be reached by boat or helicopter. The current owner, a Lisbon fund manager, bought it for €1.2m in 2021. It also holds a licence to grow medicinal cannabis, and the local mayor says the maritime authorities have contacted the council about alleged thefts of plants.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

LAUV (GRAÇA)

Oysters from the Sado head the menu at Lauv, served with lemon and pickled red onion, and the rest is the kind of food that goes with a glass of wine. Think grilled queijo coalho, a Brazilian grilling cheese, with jalapeño jelly, roast pumpkin with miso caramel and toasted walnuts, a tomato tartare with ajoblanco, the Spanish chilled almond soup, and a soy labneh with beetroot, fennel and pomegranate. The menu changes roughly every two months with the seasons, and the kitchen buys from the markets nearby.

The room is small and dimly lit, with white marble walls that the Dutch owner found hidden behind old wood panelling, plus a sofa and armchairs that make it feel like someone’s living room. It sits somewhere between a wine bar and a restaurant. There are about 20 wines, nearly all Portuguese and including orange and sparkling, with nine by the glass from €4, alongside cocktails and craft beer. The terrace is being fitted with a cover for the winter.

It opens at 7pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and is closed Sundays and Mondays. With four tables and four seats at the bar, it suits two people far better than a group.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: vegans and coeliacs can eat properly here, because the menu is built so they can share the same plates rather than make do with side dishes.

📅 WHAT’S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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