The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) has confirmed this Monday that the meteorological phenomenon that affected Albufeira, in the Faro district, last Saturday was a "tornado" with wind gusts of 200 kilometers/hour. In Lagoa, in the same district, there was a "strong wind phenomenon".

In a statement, IPMA highlighted that "the mainland territory and the Madeira archipelago have been under the influence of the Claudia depression" since last Wednesday, November 12th, with "adverse conditions", including "episodes of heavy and prolonged precipitation, hail, strong and frequent thunderstorms, as well as the occurrence of strong wind episodes".

On Saturday, November 15th, IPMA confirmed the occurrence of "two very strong wind phenomena": one in Albufeira, at 10:02 am, and another in Lagoa, at 11:22 am.

"Based on the analysis of available information and the nature of the damage produced, it was possible to classify the first of these phenomena as a tornado and the second as a strong wind phenomenon," explained IPMA.

The tornado that affected Albufeira is believed to have started near the coastline and "maintained contact with the surface along a path of approximately four kilometres, with a southwest orientation." "This tornado should be classified as IF2, with the estimated maximum instantaneous wind speed being around 60 m/s (220 km/h)."

The strong wind phenomenon that affected the Lagoa area "began its propagation over land in the Ferragudo area, and is estimated to have maintained contact with the surface along a path of almost seven kilometres, also with a southwest-northeast orientation."

In this case, the strong wind phenomenon is considered to have an IF1 classification. 5, with the maximum instantaneous wind speed estimated to have been around 50 m/s (180 km/h).

On Saturday, IPMA meteorologist Paula Leitão had already considered the phenomenon that occurred in Albufeira "clearly a tornado," explaining that "there was a whirlwind in the sky" and "the clouds descended to the surface in a swirling motion, with immense objects projected."

"The way the objects were then torn from the ground, and the objects that were in the air were thrown against the walls, some becoming embedded, are typical tornado situations."