The destruction at the airport of Faro and in other areas of this county, which occurred early this Monday at around 5:00 am (local time) must have been caused by a downburst, a meteorological phenomenon that is constituted by a very strong downward flow that propagates as a horizontal wind, close to the ground.
According to the Institute of Meteorology, at the station Faro/airport a gust with an intensity of approximately 157 km/h was recorded at 4:10 UTC (5:10).
IM, which is still investigating the phenomenon, explains that the cold branch of the frontal system that affected the continent's territory during the night of yesterday and early morning today, October 24, was characterized by relatively intense convective activity.
In the southern region of the mainland territory, in particular, the IM adds, «this activity took place in the presence of a vertical profile of the horizontal wind characterized by a slight rotation in its direction (clockwise), in a layer between the surface and 2000 meters, as well as an increase in its intensity'.
«The effects of this vertical wind profile, if they coexist with the presence of strong local instability, can lead to the formation of convective cells with particular characteristics», explains the Meteorology Institute.
These cells, called Supercells (SC) have, in fact, «the ability to exhibit rotational movement at medium and high levels, for some time (mesocyclone)».
IM adds that the analysis of the observations Doppler carried out by the Loulé/Cavalos do Caldeirão radar allowed the identification of some of these Supercells, embedded in the frontal structure, although with incipient characteristics, that is, relatively unmarked.
“In particular, at 4:00 UTC (5:00 local time), one of these convective clusters reached the region of Faro, namely the airport area and neighboring locations to the east and north-east of the airport'. 
The organized downward vertical movements, which are typical of this type of phenomenon, were particularly intense in that region and produced a phenomenon called downburst: This is a very strong downward flow that propagates as a horizontal wind, close to the ground.
Meteorology admits that, «in the circulation of the SC, in addition to a very strong horizontal wind, it is also possible to generate tornadoes».
In this episode, «this hypothesis cannot be excluded, but most of the available elements point to the fact that the phenomenon of strong wind was due to the occurrence of a downburst”.
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