Forecast is for rains in the Northeast to continue until Monday, says meteorologist

The heavy rains recorded in the Northeast region in recent days have already left more than 40 dead in the state of Pernambuco.

The mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), told CNN that this is an “extremely challenging time” and the phenomenon is something “completely out of the ordinary”.

“We are going through an extremely adverse moment, it is a meteorological phenomenon known as Onda de Leste, which has reached the Metropolitan Region of Recife. From Monday to today, we have a cumulative of approximately 450 millimeters,” he said.

Climatempo warned that the volumes of rain seen are very high, and almost all the rain has fallen since May 23. “The average rainfall in Recife, for a month of May, is 317 mm, according to calculations by the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) for the period from 1991 to 2020”, pointed out Climatempo.

In an interview with CNN this Sunday (29), the meteorologist at Inmet, Mamedes Luiz Melo, explained that these rains are influenced by larger phenomena.

“We are still under the influence of La Niña, even if it has weakened. This causes polar air masses to enter more heavily from the south,” he said.

“This last polar air mass, which covered much of the continent, moved into the Atlantic Ocean. This mass has the circulation of the winds in a counterclockwise direction,” he added.

This caused winds carrying moisture from the Atlantic to be directed towards the northeast coast. “This has intensified the volume of rain, which is what we’ve seen in the last two to three days. Especially between Pernambuco and Alagoas”, said the meteorologist.

He says that the forecast is for rain to continue until at least Monday (30). As the region already suffers from flooding and soggy soil, Mamedes points out that any rain that may happen is a cause for concern.

“The rains will be more concentrated between Pernambuco and the north and northeast of Sergipe – between the coast and the wild. This entire eastern strip of the Northeast will be in a state of attention between today and tomorrow,” he concluded.