Storm Charles is bearing down on the Iberian Peninsula, and it's arriving just as Madeira is still cleaning up from the last one. The island takes the first hit on Tuesday 10 November, with mainland Portugal and Spain deteriorating sharply from Wednesday 11 November.
The numbers are serious. Madeira's mountains could see more than 100mm of rain in just 12 hours, gusts of up to 130km/h on higher ground, and southern-coast waves between 3.5m and 4.5m, according to the Portuguese weather service IPMA. On the mainland, forecasters expect gusts of 100-120km/h or more in exposed spots, heavy rain across much of the country, and waves of 4m to 6m south of Cabo Carvoeiro. Spain gets its worst of it on Wednesday, with lingering unsettled weather into Thursday, though weaker. Weather warnings are already out, with more possible.
The timing is bad for Madeira. Storm Bruna hammered the island over the previous weekend, causing flooding that left ten people homeless, with one person still missing, and forcing dozens of flight cancellations at Funchal Airport. Charles is the third named storm of the 2026/27 season, after Adam and Bruna. The Azores, fortunately, sit outside its path.
If you're travelling in the region this week, the advice from authorities is straightforward: stay off exposed shorelines, promenades and coastal paths where big swell is dangerous, and never attempt flooded roads on foot or by car. Forested areas carry their own risk, since high winds bring down branches and whole trees. If you're staying near the coast, secure outdoor furniture, close shutters and windows, and keep an eye on official alerts. Anyone flying to or from Funchal should expect possible schedule changes and check directly with their airline rather than assuming the timetable holds.
Even if you're not in the worst-hit zones, build slack into any journeys across Portugal and Spain on Wednesday and think twice about hikes, boat trips or beach plans until the system clears. Autumn storms in this part of Europe are common, but back-to-back systems like Bruna and Charles make disruption far more likely - particularly on an island with Funchal's tricky approach.
