The river of January there was much more rainfall than expected for February. The accumulated 222.4 mm represents an increase of 85% in relation to the historical average of the month, of 120.4 mm. Reports of moderate to heavy rain were frequent at the Rio Operations Center. The measurements are made by the Alerta Rio System, the city’s meteorological institution. Cidade registered only six dry days during the entire month of February: days 9, 18, 20, 24, 26 and 27.
According to the Operations Center in Rio, the volume happened because of the action of “areas of instability, due to heat and high humidity, winds at medium and high levels of the atmosphere and low pressure system over the ocean”.
One way to measure the unusual frequency of rainfall for the month is to consider the alerts issued by the municipal operating system. There are five levels, which are distinguished by the degree of impact that adverse events can have on the city’s routine. The first alert is that of normality, when there are no significant occurrences. In February, the second stage (Mobilization) was triggered on 19 occasions, the third (Attention) on 7, and the fourth (Alert) on one.
In this month of February, it is possible to say that the main reasons for the impact that generated the notifications were the rains. The Alert stage, for example, was activated at 20:00 on February 7th, due to the record of storms in more than three points of the city (volume reached 30.4 mm/15min in one of them). The most recent concern was Mobilization, activated at 8:55 pm yesterday (28) and closed at 1 am today (1). In this case, there was moderate rainfall in Sepetiba and Santa Cruz, neighborhoods in the west zone, with volumes between 10 and 24mm/15min.
This Wednesday (1st), the city’s 458th anniversary, the forecast was for rain in the late afternoon. During the day, there was variation in cloudiness, with maximum temperatures of 35°C. In the afternoon, accumulated moisture and areas of instability in the atmosphere should contribute to quick and isolated showers.
