Here at the Posto Meteorológico, Lisbon’s weather story unfolds. This unassuming building plays a crucial role. It helps us understand the city’s climate. The Posto Meteorológico is more than just a weather station. It’s a window into Lisbon’s past and future.
Lisbon’s weather is influenced by its location. It sits at latitude 38.717 and longitude -9.133. This gives Lisbon mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. But the weather can be unpredictable. That’s where the Posto Meteorológico comes in. It helps to make sense of it all.
The Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera or IPMA oversees this important work. IPMA is the national meteorological organization of Portugal. It was established in 1946. Before that, several smaller services handled weather duties. These included civil aviation, the army, and the navy. IPMA brought all these services together.
Originally, it was called the National Meteorological Service. Over the years, it has been renamed a few times. It became the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics in 1976. Then, it was renamed the Institute of Meteorology in 1993. In 2012, it got its current name, Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera.
The Posto Meteorológico uses advanced technology. It employs statistical post-processing methods. These methods analyze forecasts from ECMWF and AROME. These are powerful weather models. The forecasts are updated twice a day. This ensures the most current information is available.
However, weather forecasting is not an exact science. The atmosphere is complex. Numerical models may not always be accurate. Human forecasters add valuable expertise. They consider additional information and issue warnings.
The Posto Meteorológico provides crucial data. It offers insights into precipitation probability. The daily overview shows the chance of rainfall exceeding 1 mm in 24 hours. Hourly forecasts show the likelihood of precipitation exceeding 0.3 mm in 3 hours. These probabilities help us plan our day.
The felt temperature is another important metric. It combines wind speed and relative humidity. This gives a more accurate sense of how the weather feels. The forecasts are given in UTC. Local time in Lisbon varies with the seasons. In winter, it’s the same as UTC. In summer, it’s UTC+1.
Historical weather data is available for Lisbon. This allows us to see weather patterns over time. We can explore temperatures and precipitation year by year. This helps us understand how Lisbon’s climate has evolved. This data stretches back to 1940. You can find information about temperature, wind, and clouds.
The Posto Meteorológico plays a vital role. It helps us understand and predict the weather. It uses advanced tools and expert analysis. So next time you check the forecast, remember this place. It is working hard to keep you informed. It is an unsung hero of daily life in Lisbon.