CRUISING IN PORTUGAL

Weather site of fellow Cruising Association member Frank Singleton.

For sailing on the western coasts of Spain and Portugal, the following are useful:

The new Area of Fitzroy (named after the founder of the Met Office) covers the north of the area down to Porto (Oporto)
The area Trafalgar (which does not seem to cover Trafalgar itself!) covers the southern area

Portuguese Coastal Waters (in Portuguese)

Covers all coastal area of Portugal (A sample translation is given below)

CNN land forecast often gives useful information to supplement the sea forecasts

Links to the coastal towns are below

Weather.com 10 day land forecasts for coastal areas of Portugal
Viana do Castelo
Porto (Oporto)
Coimbra (Figueira do Foz area)
Sintra (Tagus entrance)
Lisbon (Tagus River)
Sines
Sagres (Cape St Vincent)
Faro (Algarve)

An example of a Portuguese Forecast

REGIOES DO NORTE E CENTRO:
CEU GERALMENTE MUITO NUBLADO.
VENTO DO QUADRANTE OESTE EM GERAL FRACO, 10 A 20 KM/H.
AGUACEIROS QUE SERAO DE NEVE ACIMA DOS 1400 METROS.
CONDICOES FAVORAVEIS A OCORRENCIA DE TROVOADA.
NEBLINA OU NEVOEIRO MATINAL EM ALGUNS LOCAIS.

REGIOES DO SUL:
PERIODOS DE CEU MUITO NUBLADO.
VENTO FRACO INFERIOR A 15 KM/H, SOPRANDO MODERADO DE OESTE
20 A 35 KM/H NO LITORAL A SUL DO CABO DE SINES.
AGUACEIROS, DIMINUINDO DE FREQUENCIA AO LONGO DO DIA.
NEBLINAS OU NEVOEIROS MATINAL EM ALGUNS LOCAIS.

ESTADO DO MAR:
COSTA OCIDENTAL - ONDAS DE NOROESTE COM 4 A 5 METROS.
TEMPERATURA DA AGUA DO MAR: 17 C
COSTA SUL: ONDAS DE SUDOESTE 2,5 A 3,5 METROS,
TEMPERATURA DA AGUA DO MAR: 17 C

TRANSLATION

Regions of the north and centre
Sky generally very cloudy
Wind from the west quadrant and generally weak, 10 to 20 km. per hour
Showers will be of snow above 1400 metres
Favourable conditions for the occurence of thunder

Regions of the south
Periods with the sky very cloudy
wind weak, less than 15 km/h, blowing moderate in the west
20 to 35 km/h in the coastal areas south of Cape Sines.
Showers, reducing in frequency during the day.
Morning mist or fog in some localities

Sea state
West coast - Waves from the northwest, 4 to 5 metres
Teperature of the sea water: 17 C
South coast - Waves from the sout west 2.5 to 3.5 metres
Tempurature of the sea water: 17 C

COMMENT

Elswhere in these pages, warnings are given regarding swell affecting the Portuguese coast.

The above example is from the forecast for the day these pages were amended.

The west coast of Portugal has a forecast of weak winds, however a storm in the Atlantic has resulted in a swell forecast of 4 to 5 metres (reduced from 5 to 6 metres the previous day). In these conditions, all Portugese ports are dangerous to enter or leave.

A crude oil tanker was lost entering Vigo (just to the north of this area) just previous to this forecast.