Heavy snowfall causes large parts of Spain to sometimes be chaotic.
In Madrid, drivers were stuck for hours.
Now further record temperatures threaten.
The weather is causing chaotic conditions in Spain.
In Madrid, more than 60 centimeters of fresh snow * is reported.
New record temperatures are expected for Tuesday night.
Update from January 11th:
Millions of people in
central Spain are
threatened by
a
cold spell
after the heaviest
snowfalls
in at least 50 years
.
The mercury could
drop to minus ten degrees
in the coming nights in
Madrid
, and even far below that in higher-lying cities.
No fun in only moderately isolated apartments with draughty windows.
“We
turned
the
heat on
full, but it's still cold,” complained a Madrilene.
A neighbor even only has a heater and a hot water bottle.
“I feel like I'm in an igloo,” he says.
During the white splendor on the
weekend
caused exuberant snowball fights, for example at the famous Puerta del Sol in the
heart of Madrid
, the
masses of snow
at the beginning of the working week also became a real nuisance for many.
Schools had to close and the supply of vegetables, fruit and meat in shops stagnated.
In a supermarket in the Vallecas district in the morning, the entire staff was suddenly ordered onto the street by loudspeaker announcement.
“The truck couldn't get to the loading ramp because of the snow and the fruit load had to be unloaded by hand,” said a local resident.
Relatively cold
winters
are not uncommon in Madrid.
The city is around 650 meters above sea level and more than 300 kilometers from the sea, so it has a more continental
climate
.
But neither the authorities nor the people are prepared for such masses of snow as at the weekend and for the announced cold spell.
So far four people have died across the country.
The few people who left their house to go shopping, for example, walked on the lanes, on which there were hardly any cars anyway.
City buses still did not run, only the subway was available.
Long-distance trains had already
resumed
operation on
Sunday afternoon
, suburban trains should start
running
again from
Monday
afternoon
.
Madrid's Barajas
International
Airport was also reopened.
Snow chaos of the century in Spain: four dead - reports of a "dramatic night" - there is a threat of further cold snap
Update from January 10th, 9:08 am:
Spain and especially
Madrid
are currently experiencing the
most dramatic winter chaos in 50 years
.
The storm "Filomena" is responsible, which paralyzed the country with heavy snowfall in some cases completely.
Four people died.
On the ring motorways and country roads in the capital region, the snow, which is up to 60 centimeters high, kept more than 1,500 people in cars.
At temperatures as low as minus five degrees, some could only be released after more than 24 hours
.
“Fortunately, I had enough gasoline and was able to turn on the heater in my car again and again.
For some of them the tank was soon empty ”, one of those affected told
El País
newspaper
.
Others told the newspaper that it was a "dramatic night".
They would not have received any water, blankets or food.
Spain mourned the deaths on Sunday
: In Zarzalejo in the north-west of the Madrid region, a 54-year-old was found dead whose car had buried masses of snow.
A homeless man froze to death in a park in Madrid.
In Fuengirola, in the southern province of Málaga, a man and a woman died when their vehicle was swept away in floods.
The authorities warned that because of the further drop in temperatures over the next few days, masses of snow on roofs could turn into heavy, dangerous blocks of ice.
Record-breaking temperatures of minus 13 to 14 degrees were expected in Madrid on Tuesday night.
Snow chaos of the century in Spain: "Red alert" declared - the effects are dramatic
Update from January 9, 2021, 3:40 p.m.:
Large parts of
Spain will
again be
hit
by extreme
snowfalls
on Saturday
, which sometimes force public life to shut down.
After the
airport
of Spain's capital
Madrid
and various train routes had to
close
on Friday
due to more than 60 centimeters of
fresh snow
, other areas will be affected at the weekend.
Weather chaos in Spain: bus traffic and garbage collection in Madrid stopped - new temperature record
Public
bus transport
in
Madrid was
also
discontinued.
Likewise, the garbage disposal that cannot move because of the enormous snow masses.
The last comparable
snowfall was recorded
in the Spanish metropolis in
1971 - exactly 50 years ago
.
Mayor José Luis Martinez-Almeida urged the population in a video on Twitter not to leave the house.
Because on Saturday
too, up to 20 centimeters of
fresh snow are
expected
in large parts of
Spain
.
The national
weather service
therefore called the center of the country a "red alert".
The trigger for the
weather chaos
is the storm "
Filomena
", which is supposed to move northeast on Sunday.
On Wednesday, “
Filomena
” also set a new unofficial
temperature record
.
According to this, -34.1 degrees Celsius were measured on a private weather station at an altitude of 2000 meters.
Snow chaos in Spain and Italy: some drivers are stuck for "more than 15 hours"
Initial report of 9 January 2021:
Madrid / Bozen - Because of a
polar vortex
-
Splits
are also in Germany extremely cold days and nights *.
But in southern Europe, a current onset of winter with sometimes massive snowfalls is causing chaotic conditions
.
In Madrid, for example, more than 60 centimeters of snow fell in places.
Weather chaos in Spain: Madrid is sinking in the snow
The storm "Filomena" caused a lot of fun in Madrid with heavy snowfall, but also chaos and fear.
On the motorway rings of the Spanish capital, a
blanket of snow more than 60 centimeters
thick stuck many motorists, who had to spend part of the night in their vehicles - and on Saturday afternoon they were still trembling and waiting for help.
"We have been stuck here for more than 15 hours, no one has brought us water, blankets or food,"
said Patricia Manzanares in a telephone interview on Spanish television.
She complained: "We don't get any information at all, and there is also a three or four year old girl in the car next to us."
The largest airport in Spain in Madrid also announced in the afternoon that operations would be suspended for the whole day.
The Madrid S-Bahn stopped operating until further notice, the Renfe railway company canceled many connections on Saturday.
In addition, several motorways and country roads were closed.
“The snow of the century paralyzes Madrid,” headlined the
ABC
newspaper
.
Snow mayhem in Madrid: it could get worse
Since Friday morning, thick white flakes fell continuously from the sky in Madrid.
The heavy snowfall should not stop there on Saturday around midnight.
Since Friday evening and until Saturday evening, the highest red alert has been in effect in the capital, but also in ten of the country's 50 provinces.
In the regions where there was no snow, "Filomena" brought severe weather *, strong gusts of wind, continuous rain and high waves.
Across the country, more than a hundred roads and highways were closed on Saturday.
Snow ensures a number of rescue missions in Italy too
Heavy snowfalls also resulted in numerous missions for the fire brigade in Italy.
Especially in the north of the country, the rescue workers had to clear roads and get broken-down vehicles back on the road, as the fire department announced.
The snow also weighed on the roofs of many snow-covered places in the regions of Emilia Romagna and Lombardy.
In the village of Sappada in the northeast region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia near the Austrian border, the firefighters had to climb a church to shovel the snow from the roof of the church.
The fire brigade reported a total of around 200 snow missions from the regions.
(dpa / rjs) * merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Meng Dingbo / dpa