Inmet Issues Orange Severe-Storm Alerts Across Much of Brazil as Heatwave Breaks

Overview

• Alerts valid from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on January 2 cover São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and multiple other states, with several local warnings kept in place through Sunday, January 4.
• Forecasts indicate 30–60 mm per hour or 50–100 mm per day of rain, wind gusts of 60–100 km/h and possible hail, with risks that include flooding, landslides, fallen trees and power outages.
• São Paulo’s government activated a crisis cabinet, cities adjusted operational stages, and guidance urges people to avoid sheltering under trees, unplug electronics and call 199/193 for emergencies.
• Meteorologists attribute the change to a cold front and a South Atlantic Convergence Zone after the weakening of an atmospheric block, with temperatures expected to drop notably over the weekend.
• Regional updates include renewed alerts for the Vale do Paraíba, warnings across Bahia, Piauí and Tocantins, and rough sea advisories earlier in the period along Rio’s coast.