LISBON — Storm Charles delivered destructive weather across the Iberian Peninsula this week, particularly impacting Portugal and southern Spain. The system reached the Portuguese island of Madeira on Nov. 11 before moving to the mainland.
Madeira recorded wind gusts of 84.5 miles per hour at Funchal airport and rainfall totals of 355 millimeters within 12 hours. In Lisbon, 183 flights were cancelled on Wednesday—about one-third of the city's daily air traffic. Madrid Barajas airport in Spain saw 155 cancellations as flooding spread across both nations.
The storm tracked northeast through southern France and into northern Italy. Heavy rain caused rock falls and forced road closures along the French Riviera near Cannes.
Italy's weather service issued its highest alert—a red rainfall warning—for regions from Tuscany to Venezia. Forecasters said additional rain of 100 millimeters would accumulate widely, with totals near 200 millimeters expected in mountainous areas of Italy and the Balkans over the coming days.
In separate severe weather, British Columbia endured successive rounds of heavy rain and strong winds over the past week. Between Monday and Friday, more than 400,000 customers lost power. Additional storms over the weekend cut power to 135,000 more customers and caused downed trees, flooded roads and landslides.
Wind gusts reached 72.1 miles per hour on Herbert Island and 60 miles per hour at Victoria International Airport on Sunday. The River Forecast Centre issued flood warnings for the south coast on Wednesday, citing risks of flash flooding and landslides as heavy rain and high streamflow continued.
Canadian forecasters expect another area of low pressure to bring torrential rain and strong winds to the region over the upcoming weekend, with more than 100 millimeters of rain likely across central and southern Vancouver Island on Saturday and wind gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour.
