In the Madrid area, rescue workers reached 1,500 people trapped in cars, while police stopped a major snowball fight after authorities called on civilians to stay at home over the risk of accidents or the spread of the coronavirus.
Forecasters warned of dangerous conditions in the coming days, with temperatures expected to drop to minus 14 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) next week and the prospect of snow turning to ice and damaged trees falling.
In Madrid, police cordoned off buildings with heavy snow loads on the roof in case of accidents, but residents took to the streets en masse to enjoy the rare sight of their city clad in white.
About 100 workers and shoppers slept for two nights in a shopping center in Majadahonda, a city north of Madrid, after being trapped by the snowstorm on Friday.
“People sleep on the floor on cardboard,” Ivan Alcala, a restaurant worker, told TVE.
Madrid International Airport has suspended flights until Sunday evening.
About 20,000 km of roads across central Spain were affected by the storm and the government would send convoys to transport the vaccine and food supplies to those in need, Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said on Saturday.
A man and a woman drowned in a car after a river burst near Malaga to the south, while two homeless people froze to death in Madrid and Calatayud to the east, officials said.
The State Metereological Agency (Aemet) said that up to 20-30 cm of snow fell in Madrid on Saturday, the highest amount since 1971.