Wind leaves trail of destruction and deaths in Rio and SP

According to Folha, seven people were injured after a schooner capsized in Ubatuba, on the north coast of São Paulo. In the same municipality, another person was injured after a tree fell. In São Sebastião, another vessel also capsized and left two people injured; a fisherman died. Falling trees also caused two deaths in SP, in Cesário Lange and Santos. In RJ, two people died after a wall collapsed in Santa Tereza, in the central region of the city.

A report made by CNN Brasil showed at least 81 flights impacted by the wind. At Congonhas Airport (SP), there were 32 arrivals and 22 canceled departures. Another 15 flights had their routes changed. The effects were still felt yesterday morning (30), with 3 arrivals and 2 departures also cancelled. Two aircraft bound for Guarulhos Airport were also forced to land in other cities. In Rio, five flights bound for Galeão were diverted to other airports.

According to Climatempo, the wind was a consequence of the impact of the passage of a cold front and the shock with a mass of drier and warmer air that was parked over the Southeast. The contrast between the hot air close to the surface and the entry of a mass of cold air also extended to the highest levels of the atmosphere, contributing to increasing instability and favoring the acceleration of winds. BBC Brasil gave more details.

Regarding the relationship between strong winds and El Niño, experts are divided. In O Globo, meteorologist Marcelo Seluchi, from the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), stated that the strong winds that hit the Southeast are related to the storm system that resulted in the rains of recent days in Rio Grande do Sul. The event would be a “gust front”, rare in winter and which can be considered a sign of the influence of El Niño.

For Cemaden's general research and development coordinator, José Marengo, the relationship between Wednesday's strong winds and El Niño is more indirect. "It's not directly connected, because what caused the wind was the arrival of a cold front. These places had very high temperatures and the arrival of this front caused a very strong thermal shock, which brought what we call a gust front", he commented to g1.

At Estadão, meteorologist Larissa Campos, from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), highlighted that it is not yet possible to associate the episode with El Niño. For her, the wind originated from the combination of a trough (a region of low atmospheric pressure, associated with rain) and strong wind currents coming from the Amazon, intensified by a cold front.

The windstorm in SP and RJ had great repercussions in the press, with headlines on CNN Brasil, DW, Estadão, Exame, g1, O Globo, Metrópoles, SBT, UOL and VEJA, among others.