Image: from Antonio Costa X@ACInvestorBlog
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies | February 5, 2026
LISBON — Even as the dust and debris have yet to settle from the catastrophic passage of Depression Kristin, Portugal faces a grueling new trial. Meteorologists have confirmed that a fresh storm system, Depression Leonardo, is already beginning to lash the country, threatening to exacerbate a crisis that has left ten dead and dozens of municipalities in a state of calamity.
For the residents of Central Portugal, there has been no time to breathe. Just days after Kristin’s record-breaking winds—recorded at a staggering 178 km/h at the Monte Real Air Base—ripped through the heart of the country, the IPMA (Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere) has issued new red and orange alerts. This second wave comes at the worst possible moment: with soils already saturated and river levels dangerously high, the risk of flash flooding and further structural collapses is reaching a critical tipping point.
A Landscape of Ruin
I believe Europe has no idea of the scale of destruction Portugal experienced last week and that even now thousands of people remain without internet, running water or power.
What we’re seeing right now is absolutely devastating. I myself was spared by just 50 km, but the… pic.twitter.com/unEmY49pTL
— Antonio Costa (@ACInvestorBlog) January 31, 2026
The toll from Kristin remains grim. Official reports now attribute ten fatalities to the storm and its immediate aftermath, including victims of falling roofs during repair attempts and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators used during the massive power outages. At the height of the storm, nearly 1.7 million people were left in the dark as 774 kilometers of high-voltage lines were crippled.
In districts like Leiria, Coimbra, and Santarém, the scenes resemble a war zone. Thousands of homes remain without roofs, and essential communication networks in municipalities like Oleiros and Vila Velha de Ródão are still flickering or non-existent.
“We are exhausted,” says one local official from the Marinha Grande region. “Our crews haven’t slept, our resources are stretched thin, and now the rain is starting again. People are terrified of what tonight will bring.”
Leonardo: The Second Act
Depression Leonardo is not expected to match Kristin’s raw wind velocity, but its timing makes it no less dangerous. Forecasts predict “two to three times” the average monthly rainfall in just a matter of days. In the North and Central mountains, accumulation could reach 250 liters per square meter.
The government has responded by mobilizing the Armed Forces and declaring a state of calamity in 68 municipalities to speed up aid. In an unusual move to assist mobility in damaged areas, tolls have been suspended on major stretches of the A8, A14, A17, and A19 motorways.
Climate “Conjunction”
Experts from the University of Lisbon point to a “perfect storm” of meteorological factors, an anomalous position of the Azores High, and a southward shift of the jet stream, which has essentially opened a highway for Atlantic depressions to strike the Iberian Peninsula in rapid succession.
As the rain begins to fall once more on the battered roofs of Portugal, the question is no longer when the recovery will begin, but how much more the nation can endure before the clouds finally part.