All schools across Portugal shut ahead of Storm Charles.^[1] Around 8,000 cancelled classes.^[2] The country cancelled more than 300 flights.^[3] Four international airports suspended operations.^[4] The storm then passed mainland Portugal without causing severe damage.^[5] What the storm did Charles struck the island of Madeira on 10 November.^[6] On the mainland the weather agency IPMA recorded gusts of more than 120 kilometres an hour in some areas.^[7] Some streets in Lisbon flooded.^[8] Heavy rain and strong winds disrupted transport across the country.^[9] By mid-afternoon on 11 November only the Algarve region remained on red alert.^[10] The shutdown The government advised people to stay at home.^[11] Prime Minister Luis Montenegro chaired a crisis unit to monitor the storm.^[12] The Web Summit conference in Lisbon cancelled one day of events.^[13] The argument The scale of the precautions against the scale of the damage raised the question of overreaction. Luis Neves, the interior minister, said the authorities did not overreact.^[14] There is a reason the government erred on that side. It was criticised over its response to Storm Kristin in January.^[15] Spain The storm was forecast to move into Spain next.^[16] In one Spanish town, 3,000 residents were evacuated over concerns about the safety of a dam.^[17]