Powerful Cyclone Eases as It Moves Offshore After Pummeling Southern Brazil

Overview

• Inmet models indicate the cyclone is shifting away from the coast and should be more distant and disorganized by Friday, with conditions easing on Thursday.
• Rio recorded peak gusts of 74.8 km/h at the Vidigal station, and COR-Rio activated protocols that sent municipal guards to close Avenida Niemeyer and the Tim Maia bike path.
• The storm disrupted transport and power: Santos Dumont canceled 38 flights, Galeão received 27 alternated flights from São Paulo, and gusts near 100 km/h in the capital left more than 2 million properties without electricity.
• In Santa Catarina, Palhoça saw 137 mm of rain in 24 hours and three deaths, according to MetSul and local reports.
• Authorities issued wind safety advisories as climatologists said the growing intensity of such extratropical systems is consistent with climate change and Antarctic sea-ice anomalies.