atlasthemonk

From which direction does the wind come from in your area and is it a mild or cool wind.
Further to a thread last week on the winds in south west Algarve , I would like to know more about the winds in your area because here in Tomar I have been disappointed in how cool it feels, not just now ( 16c but with a coat on ) but also this June when the temperature was in the high 20s but too cold to sunbathe or swim because of the NORTH wind.

Alan PT

You can get a rough idea from this https://globalwindatlas.info/area/Portugal but there are always a lot of local micro effects from hills, buildings etc which can significantly alter the feel. Usual prevailing winds are from the North here as well, we face almost exactly North/South and it is seldom comfortable sitting on the North side but a completely different story sitting on the sheltered South side of the building

ouriquejan

We have a north wind this morning, near Ourique and whilst it's cool, I've been wandering around the garden in a t-shirt and fleece. The front of the house is really hot in the sun and the fleece came off.

For the rest of the week, we have a southerly with an eastern chill in it. So I wiil be at the front of the house or sheltered somewhere.

wellinever

temp in garden this morning 20 mins ago shows 32 deg.....garden is sheltered and full south facing and wind is only very light
too hot to sit in for long

Pilotabroad

32 deg today???
Nowhere in Europe is that temp.
I'm guessing your thermometer is in direct sunlight therefore giving a false reading.

As to the original question in my area 90% of wind comes straight from the West ie Atlantic, but as mentioned its a microclimate area and hills to protect do never an issue.

wellinever

of course it is...........i dont sit in the shade

toots sweet

Half an hour south of Santarem.
We tend to get a mix of north to north east winds, but quite a few westerly ones. We've noticed this when we do our garden burns just lately. We can see the hills across the Tejo north of Lisbon from our front garden . Front garden is colder than rear which is south to west facing. Gardening today, had fleece on but it was too hot.

Moses2013

A country that's facing the Atlantic will always have wind and that's why there are so many good surf spots. Tomar would be a light breeze compared to some coastal areas and especially what we are used to. As mentioned by others, you just find a sheltered spot but I'm surprised you find Tomar windy. 16-20 km/h is nothing dramatic.

https://www.windy.com/39.625/-8.388/wind

Alan PT

It will be 32 deg in Scotland, but only if you still work in Fahrenheit

macliam

Being a maritime country, Portugal has more micro-climates than anywhere else I've ever been - the weather can be significantly different over a few kilometres. My house is in the Alentejo hills, fairly close to ouriquejan (about 10km), yet I am certain that we would experience different conditions on many occasions. This mostly manifests itself with rainfall, I have lost count of the times I have had to shelter from torrential rain whilst in Ourique or Castro Verde only to return home to a desert..... and vice-versa. I also have a distant view of a friend's house some 3.5km away and can watch rainclouds over him, but clear sky over me (and VV).

Our wind normally blasts up the valley from Monchique - so strongly that we have planted a wind-break on out boundary. This is generally, but not always, not significantly colder than the ambient temperature, but can be almost hurricane force and we experience dust-devils and mini tornados! One lifted my 8X4 Keter shed off its foundations and threw it 20 metres (and, no, it did not survive ). However, on occasions the wind comes from the direction of the planicie and then there is significant wind-chill.

People in the UK find it amazing that the temperature can vary so much (particularly in Winter). They baulk at the idea of 40C, but find it hard to believe we also get sub-zero nights in Winter. If I tell them it can be frosty in the morning, but 25C in the afternoon, they think I'm exaggerating, yet this week my wife has complained about frost (and mid-teens daily maximums), yet 21C is expected this weekend. There is also the situation that ouriquejan spoke about, where in clear sun you can be sweating in a T-shirt, in shade you need to add a fleece to be comfortable and you really don't try to stay in shadow for long at all - because the air temperature is cold, but the sun is hot. This also means that the temperature plummets as soon as the sun disappears......

So, all in all, knowing the experiences of your next-door neighbour might be useful....... but move much further away and it will only give you a general view.

Alan PT

I've heard Portugal described as "a cold country with hot sun", which seems very apt

Orientation and sun exposure of houses really makes a massive difference here

ouriquejan

We're thinking of re-naming our monte to Windy Ridge, the back of the house gets the worst of the wind.

chislenko

As a keen cyclist I have found whenever I am cycling in the Eastern Algarve the wind is always against you 😉

macliam

Ours is "Por do Sol", because the sunsets are superb almost every day - but that's because of our view down the valley, which leaves us exposed to the wind.....

We are both in that odd part of the Alentejo that people don't consider, the part that is not all planicie and latifundios, or coastal, but hills and trees and sheep! Oddly, the other side of the Alentejo is not "normal" either with its mountains - and the northern Alentejo is actually much further north than Lisbon and can be on the "other" other bank of the Tagus (see Belver)!! So much for reality versus perception!!

macliam

Ah sha, ye're riding in the wrong direction - "if I were you, i wouldn't start from there at all"!!!