Brazil Puts Thousands of Cities on Severe-Storm Alert as Winds, Hail and 100 mm Rains Forecast

Overview

• Inmet’s orange danger alerts run from 00:00 to 23:59 on Friday across 17 states and the Federal District, covering 2,368 municipalities, with an additional 3,411 under yellow alerts for potential storms.
• Forecasts call for 30–60 mm of rain per hour or 50–100 mm in a day, gusts of 60–100 km/h and isolated hail, with the highest potential for intense cells from mid-afternoon into the evening.
• Authorities activated preparedness measures, including São Paulo’s crisis cabinet and safety guidance to avoid flooded areas, keep away from trees during gusts, and disconnect nonessential electrical equipment.
• Regional advisories include 153 Bahia municipalities under a yellow alert for intense rain and multiple Piauí cities under simultaneous orange and yellow alerts for storms and heavy rain; Petrópolis raised its operational stage with rain risks into Monday.
• Early effects were reported in São Paulo state with downed trees in Ribeirão Preto, and forecasters expect temperatures to ease over the weekend as a cold front and the South Atlantic Convergence Zone sustain instability.