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SNOWSTORMS ACROSS SPAIN have left three people dead and caused chaos across much of the country, trapping motorists and closing the capital’s air and rail links, with more falls to come today.
Yesterday, Madrid experienced its heaviest snowfalls since 1971 after what the AEMET weather agency described as “exceptional and most likely historic” conditions caused by Storm Filomena.
It warned that another 20cm was expected to fall Saturday in Madrid and central Spain’s lower plains, with up to 50cm at higher altitudes.
“Even if, despite the extremely difficult weather conditions, the number of incidents is relatively limited, we have three deaths to mourn,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a news conference.
Apart from Madrid, the exceptional conditions put another four regions in the centre of the country on red alert Saturday: Aragon, Valencia, Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia.
On Twitter, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on people to stay indoors and follow the instructions of the emergency services. He paid tribute to the work of the rescue agencies who had helped hundreds of people trapped in the show overnight.
Madrid’s Barajas airport was shut down late last night, transport officials said the snowfall disrupted traffic on nearly 400 roads, and the Renfe rail network said all trains to and from Madrid had been cancelled.
Madrid’s emergencies agency said they had worked all night to help trapped motorists, freeing a thousand vehicles. They asked others still stuck to be patient.
‘Extremely serious’
Motorist Patricia Manzanares told national television how she had been stranded without food for 15 hours on the M-40 motorway in the Madrid region.
“I’ve been here since 7 o’clock last night, there are lot of us in this situation. There are 60 centimetres of snow and we are soon going to run out of petrol” and thus lose their cars’ heating, she said.
Madrid authorities have closed the parks, as well as suspending bus services and rubbish collections in the city after a night in which the snow continued to fall steadily.
Mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida described the situation as “extremely serious”.
“We are working to clear access to hospitals as quickly as possible,” he told the La Sexta television channel today. “But frankly that is complicated, it has been snowing so much.” The army had been called in on Friday to help the authorities, he added.
In Madrid itself, the army was helping to clear roads using snow ploughs and has also helped rescue some motorists.
At least two of the city’s metro lines had their services disrupted by the conditions.
Schools and universities in and around Madrid will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, said the president of the region Isabel Diaz Ayuso.
Heavy-lorry ban
In all, 36 out of Spain’s 50 provinces declared snow alerts.
Catalonia in the southeast and Castilla La Mancha have both banned heavy goods vehicles from driving in the wintry conditions.
The historic city of Toledo asked the army for help clearing the streets, as did Albacete in the southeast, public television reported.
The exceptional conditions also hit sports fixtures, forcing the postponement of Atletico Madrid’s match against Bilbao, and the cancellation of the Spain-Croatia basketball match, which had been due to go ahead in Madrid today.
Forecasters said the heavy snow would continue until Sunday, before Storm Filomena begins moving northeast, although temperatures would remain exceptionally low.
Before the snowfall began Thursday morning, temperatures had already plummeted to an unofficial record low of -34.1 degrees Celsius at a ski station in the central Pyrenees on Wednesday.
Storm Filomena has also brought intense rain and high winds to the Canary Islands as well as Spain’s southern coast.
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Global warming ,sadly.
@Peter Bell: believe it or not it does get cold in the winter in parts of Spain till the end of March especially in the night time.
@Gerard Heery: snow way!!
@Scott Mcgarry: Madrid is always freezing cold in the winter
There are 2 ski resorts right outside the city and one of the Valdeski isn’t bad at all even if the lifts are a bit slow
@Peter Bell: If it was global warming shouldn’t they be basking in the sun?
@Peter Bell: And what was the reason in 1971?
@Gerard Heery: -10 in places tonight
@Peter Bell: what data do you have to affirm such thing? My family is from Madrid city, neighborhood centre. There has been this heavy snow always, a year might be heavier than other. When my mother was small, it is the normal but there isn’t the records that there are today.
What we see today is in the Capital is more linked with mismanagement of the city by the far wing party. When my mother was a young lady, the council crew worked during the night to make sure the Capital kept its hectic pace … of course blame the climate change is very handy those accountable …
@Pat Casey: gobshi#e
@Maria Quinn: Maria, I’m from Madrid and I grow up with big snowfalls in Madrid city. Schools closed etc, last night the crews also worked very hard. No need to polticise a very heavy storm. As the current communist national government described asthe worst in 50 yrs.
When the far left were in government or the socialist were in charge the same problem happened. And trust me it will happen again, is a Spanish mentality independently on how is in charge.
The lefties wouldn’t have done much better.
If you are not happy how Madrid is managed is easy, don’t comeback.
@Ray Deveire: Well that escalated quickly.
I’m in sunny southern Spain and it’s bloody freezing I wish I coul post a picture.
The snow might stop the air conditioner in that photo of the washing line from working.
Clima chenge isa beach
Olé
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