Storm Charles, from the Gulf of Cádiz to Liguria: the buoys live
Charles hits the Gulf of Cádiz on Wednesday, crosses Spain and enters the Mediterranean on Thursday 12 November. I'm following what the buoys and weather stations measure, live, from Faro to Liguria, until Saturday.
Records since the live began
Automatic · refreshed every 5 minWhere is Charles: Wednesday 9pm
- 990.8 hPalowest pressure, Castelo Branco
- 4.1 mGulf of Cádiz →
- 3.8 msignificant height at Faro →
At 9pm, the lowest pressure I measure is 990.8 hPa at Castelo Branco, inland Portugal: the centre of Charles is moving away from the coast and the pressure is rising slightly (988 hPa in Lisbon around 5pm). The sea stays rough in the Gulf of Cádiz, with 4.1 m at the Gulf of Cádiz buoy and 3.8 m at Faro. According to the ECMWF model, the centre crosses Spain tonight, passes over the Gulf of Lion around 10am Thursday and reaches the Ligurian Sea around 7pm Thursday, where the model deepens it again to about 987 hPa. Times are Paris time.
Where is Charles: Wednesday 9pm
- 990.8 hPalowest pressure, Castelo Branco
- 4.1 mGulf of Cádiz →
- 3.8 msignificant height at Faro →
At 9pm, the lowest pressure I measure is 990.8 hPa at Castelo Branco, inland Portugal: the centre of Charles is moving away from the coast and the pressure is rising slightly (988 hPa in Lisbon around 5pm). The sea stays rough in the Gulf of Cádiz, with 4.1 m at the Gulf of Cádiz buoy and 3.8 m at Faro. According to the ECMWF model, the centre crosses Spain tonight, passes over the Gulf of Lion around 10am Thursday and reaches the Ligurian Sea around 7pm Thursday, where the model deepens it again to about 987 hPa. Times are Paris time.
Where is Charles: Wednesday 7pm
- 990 hPalowest pressure, Ponte de Sor
- 4.5 msignificant height at Faro →
- 4.1 mGulf of Cádiz →
The centre of Charles reached the Portuguese coast around 5pm, with 988 hPa in Lisbon. At 7pm it is over the Alentejo, near Ponte de Sor (990 hPa), heading for Spain. The sea is still building in the Gulf of Cádiz: 4.5 m at Faro, 4.1 m at the Gulf of Cádiz buoy. The ECMWF model takes it across Spain tonight, over the Gulf of Lion around 10am Thursday and into the Ligurian Sea on Thursday evening. Times are Paris time.
An 8.0 m wave at Faro
The Faro buoy logs an 8.0 m wave on 4.5 m of significant height, the biggest I've seen since this live began (before: 6.3 m).
Faro costeira →4.5 m significant wave height at Faro
The Faro buoy reads 4.5 m significant wave height, the highest I've seen since this live began.
Faro costeira →993 hPa at Ayamonte Isla Canela
- 993 hPapressure at Ayamonte Isla Canela
Pressure falls to 993 hPa at Ayamonte Isla Canela, the lowest I've seen since this live began.
83 km/h gust at El Arenosillo
- 83 km/hgust at El Arenosillo
The El Arenosillo station logs an 83 km/h gust, the strongest I've seen since this live began.
A 6.3 m wave at Faro
The Faro buoy logs a 6.3 m wave on 3.6 m of significant height, the biggest I've seen since this live began.
Faro costeira →
Storm Charles, named by Portugal, comes in from the Atlantic on Wednesday 11 November. The sea builds first in the Gulf of Cádiz: the Faro buoy goes from 2.1 m significant wave height in the morning to 3.6 m by late afternoon. The low then crosses Spain overnight and enters the Mediterranean on Thursday through the Gulf of Lion.
What the models expect
On Thursday the wind blows from the south-east over Provence in the morning, then swings north-west in the afternoon. The south-westerly sea builds between the Balearics and Corsica and peaks on Thursday evening in the IFREMER model: 4.4 m around 7pm off Calvi, 3.9 m around 10pm off Ajaccio, 2.5 m around 7pm at Planier, off Marseille, and 2.6 m around 10pm at Monaco. Liguria gets it later: 4.0 m around 7am Friday at La Spezia.
On Friday the Mistral builds over Provence: around 60 km/h by midday at Planier, with gusts near 80 km/h (Météo-France). The sea then eases into Saturday.
These are forecasts. Here I log what the buoys and stations actually measure as the storm goes by. Times in this text are Paris time (CET). The full forecast is on marc.labouee.app.
Buoys in this story
- Faro costeira
- Golfo de Cádiz Buoy
- Sevilla-Guadalquivir Buoy
- Tarifa Buoy
- Ceuta Buoy
- Málaga Buoy
- Cabo de Gata Buoy
- Cartagena Buoy
- Cabo de Palos Buoy
- Valencia Buoy
- Dragonera Buoy
- Mahón Buoy
- Barcelona Buoy II
- Tarragona Buoy
- Cabo Begur Buoy
- Leucate
- Sète
- Espiguette
- Lion
- Le Planier
- Provence
- Porquerolles
- Paca
- Cap Roux
- Monaco
- Azur
- Ajaccio
- Calvi
- La Revellata
- Bonifacio
- Alistro
- Vecchio
- ALGHERO
- LA SPEZIA
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