Portugal and Spain are bracing for another powerful Atlantic storm as Storm Charles approaches the Iberian Peninsula, bringing orange weather warnings, torrential rain and wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour.
The Portuguese weather agency, IPMA, named the depression Charles on Monday, 9 November. It is the third named storm of the 2026/27 season, following Adam and Bruna.
Madeira is first in line. IPMA has issued orange warnings for the island, in force from 9 p.m. UTC on Tuesday, 10 November, until midday UTC on Wednesday, 11 November. Forecasters expect more than 100 millimetres of rain in 12 hours in some mountain areas, with gusts of 80 to 100 km/h along the coasts and up to 130 km/h on high ground.
The most severe weather on Madeira is expected between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, as the centre of the depression passes north of the island around midnight and then continues eastwards towards mainland Portugal.
Mainland Portugal and Spain face the worst on Wednesday
On the Portuguese mainland, the deterioration is expected from late on Wednesday morning, with orange warnings applying from 11 November. IPMA forecasts gusts of 100 to 120 km/h, with the centre of the storm most likely to cross the coast somewhere between Sines and Cabo Carvoeiro.
Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, has issued a special warning covering Tuesday, 10 November, to Thursday, 12 November, for the southern and western mainland and the Canary Islands. It describes Charles as a high-impact storm that is expected to intensify rapidly as it approaches, bringing heavy and persistent rain, very strong gusts and rough seas.
Wednesday, 11 November, is expected to be the most severe day, with Charles moving along the southern flank of Storm Bruna and likely entering the peninsula via Portugal. Conditions are expected to remain unsettled into Thursday before easing.
Flooding risk after Storm Bruna
The warnings come hard on the heels of Storm Bruna, which caused flooding in Madeira over the weekend and led to 53 flight cancellations at Madeira Airport. Bruna is a separate system and is expected to remain largely stationary north-west of the Iberian Peninsula until Friday, 13 November.
Spanish civil protection authorities have warned that rainfall totals across the wider period affected by both Bruna and Charles could locally exceed 300 millimetres in the Central System, raising the risk of rivers overflowing, flash flooding and landslides in areas hit by summer wildfires. Forecasters have also said tornadoes are possible around the centre of the storm.
Both IPMA and AEMET stress that the exact track and intensity of Charles remain uncertain, and warning levels could still be raised as forecasts are updated. AEMET has said no hurricane is expected to reach mainland Spain.
