MADRID (Reuters) – Heavy snowfall caused by Storm Filomena has left parts of Spain, including the capital Madrid, highly alert on Friday, causing traffic congestion and forcing authorities in some regions to deploy the military to reduce access to to free villages.
With a snow forecast of up to 20 cm (almost 8 inches) in 24 hours and the temperature expected to hover around zero degrees Celsius for most of the day, the south of the Madrid region, including the capital, is at its highest level. alertness for the first time since the system was created in 2007.
Such events are rare in the region and tend to disrupt daily life and mobility, at a time when people return home after the Christmas and New Year holidays. This year, however, there is less traffic than usual due to restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Major parks in Madrid, including the famous Retiro next to the Prado Museum, were closed as a precaution.
Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency, said the city was likely experiencing the heaviest snowfall to date in the 21st century.
“Perhaps we should go back to the February 1984 snowfall or the March 1971 snowfall to find similar precedents if the predictions we expect are correct,” he added.
Castilla-La Mancha, one of three regions put on high alert along with Madrid and East Valencia on Friday, closed schools and troops were called to clear access to some villages.
As hundreds of roads had been hit by the snow, trucks were banned from several major highways, and authorities asked citizens to avoid non-essential travel.
Airport operator Aena urged passengers to use the metro to get to Madrid Airport, and train operator Renfe has canceled a number of routes.
On Wednesday, Spain registered the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Iberian Peninsula, of -34.1C, in the Pyrenees in the north.
The storm first hit the Canary Islands with strong winds and rain. On Gran Canaria, a ferry with 59 passengers and 17 crew members ran aground on Thursday evening due to the strong winds entering the port of Agaete.
On Friday, the coast guard rescued the passengers, who were unharmed, but the ferry was stranded.
Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Cristina Sanchez, edited by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones