27 injured as hurricane Leslie slams into Portugal coast
A weakened hurricane Leslie slammed into the coast of Portugal, leaving 27 people injured as it uprooted trees, brought down power lines, and smashed store windows with gusting winds and heavy rain. Over 60 people were forced to leave their homes by the storm and over 300,000 people suffered power outages overnight, Luis Belo Costa of Portugal's National Protection Agency said. Here's more.
Leslie had been downgraded from Category 1 hurricane
Leslie had been downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 110kph by the time it landed on Portugal's Atlantic coast late Saturday. But state broadcaster RTP said Leslie's wind speeds reached 170kph in coastal town of Figueira da Foz.
Red warnings issued for high winds, dangerous coastal conditions
Portugal's weather service had issued red warnings for high winds or dangerous coastal conditions for 13 of its 18 mainland districts, including Lisbon. Winds sent trees crashing onto cars and sidewalks in Lisbon and in the northern city of Porto. Over 200 power lines were affected by the storm, according to reports citing power authority EDP. Some flights were also canceled or delayed.
Leslie moved towards Iberian Peninsula to Spain
Leslie moved east yesterday across the Iberian Peninsula to Spain, where authorities issued warnings for heavy rains and storm conditions for the northern part of the country. Leslie is a bit of a weather outlier, since hurricanes that regularly batter the American side of the Atlantic, rarely bring their destructive power all the way across the ocean to Europe.
