Spain races to clear snow before cold snap freezes roads

MADRID – After the worst snowstorm in decades, Spanish officials were racing Sunday to clear the roads of snow before a cold snap transformed them into icy death traps.

Storm Filomena killed three people during its passage through Spain and kept emergency services workers and army snow ploughs busy through Saturday freeing 2,500 drivers trapped in their vehicles.

The storm also brought heavy rains before moving through eastern Spain into southern France.

Spain’s weather forecasters AEMET predicted heavy frost overnight Sunday to Monday in large parts of Spain. In mountainous areas temperatures would drop below -10 celsius, conditions that could last until Thursday, the agency added.

“Our aim is to make the most of every minute before Monday when the drop in temperature happens,” to clear the roads, Madrid’s mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said late on Saturday.

“From then, until the end of the week, it’s going to be very difficult to get about,” he told Sexta television.

The capital Madrid and the surrounding region was one of the areas worst hit by the snow, with levels of snowfall not seen since 1971.

The army also had to clear the snow from Madrid airport, one of the regions worst hit by the snowstorm, which had forced the cancellation of flights from late Friday. They are not due to be reopened until this afternoon at the earliest.

They also had to clear access to the city’s hospitals, still struggling to cope with the country’s coronavirus crisis.

The storm, through Friday and Saturday, left much of the country under dozens of centimetres of snow, an amount rarely experienced in Spain, blocking many major roads.

More than 700 major routes were still impassable this morning said the government, with rail travel to and from Madrid also cancelled, at least until this afternoon.

The authorities in the capital have closed the city's schools, colleges and universities at least until Wednesday.

As well as the Madrid region, the exceptional conditions hit another four regions – Aragon, Valencia, Castilla La Mancha and Catalonia – hard yesterday. – AFP, January 10, 2021