MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish capital Madrid and much of the neighboring region of Castilla-La Mancha were on high alert on Friday for what meteorologists expect to be the biggest snowfall in decades, brought by the Storm Filomena.
Such events are rare in the region and tend to disrupt daily life and mobility, and it comes at a time when people return home after Christmas and New Year holidays. This year, however, there is less traffic than usual due to restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
When heavy snow began to fall, authorities said large parks in Madrid, including the famous Retiro next to the Prado Museum, would be closed as a precaution from Friday afternoon.
With up to 20 cm (almost 8 centimeters) of snow forecast in 24 hours and the temperature is expected to be around zero centimeters for most of the day, the south of the Madrid region, including the capital, is up its highest warning for the first time since the system was created in 2007.
Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency, said the city had probably faced the worst snowfall at least so far in the 21st century.
“Perhaps we should go back to the February 1984 snowfall or to March 1971 to find similar precedents as the forecasts we expect are correct,” he added.
Light snow covered Madrid as early as Thursday, a day after Spain recorded the lowest temperature on the Iberian Peninsula, -34.1C, in the northern Pyrenees.
Storm Filomena moves through Spain after hitting the Canary Islands with strong winds and rain.
On Gran Canaria, a ferry with 59 passengers and 17 crew members ran aground on Thursday night due to the strong wind when the port of Agaete entered.
The Coast Guard towed the ferry to the port on Friday, with passengers and crew members still intact.
(This story corresponds to the Spanish spelling of Filomena)
Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Cristina Sanchez, edited by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones