A thick layer of snow and ice sheets have forced this morning to close all access to the Teide National Park, where the volcano of the same name is located on the Canary Island of Tenerife.
The photos provided by the Tenerife Council show a white layer of about 20 centimeters on the roads that go up to this place, one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island.
The Canary Islands archipelago is under the influence of an isolated depression at high levels (dana) —air pocketing in upper layers—, which has left large amounts of water on practically all the islands, winds that have reached 80 kilometers per hour and 575 rays at dawn this Monday, as reported by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Snowfall has continued this morning.
The sensible thing to do for self-protection is NOT to go up to the Teide NP or Roque de los Muchachos, we do not have our cars prepared for snow and there are also sheets of ice.
📷@_canaryweather pic.twitter.com/wGwrRZ4jbY
— Vicky Palma Meteo (@VickyPalmaMeteo) December 26, 2022
The snow on Teide is one of the pictures of the day on the islands, where the rainfall has been very abundant.
Thus, in Puerto de la Cruz 62.2 liters per square meter have been collected;
32.8 in Hermigua, as well as 25.6 liters per square meter at Tenerife Sur Airport;
25 in Las Cañadas del Teide or 22.6 liters per square meter in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In those same Cañadas del Teide, winds of 68 kilometers per hour have been measured.
The precipitations in the case of the volcano park have been in the form of snow, so they have been cut on the TF-24, from the Los Loros Crossing;
on the TF-21, access through La Orotava, from La Caldera-Aguamansa and through Vilaflor in the Barranco de Las Lajas, and on the TF-38, through Chío, at the height of the Merendero.
Complex situation on the roads of the Teide National Park with ice and snow on the road.
Rainfall continues at the top of Tenerife.
📹PN Teide staff.
pic.twitter.com/iwuz7ab6K4
— Meteo_Tenerife🏴🏴🇮🇨❄️ (@tenerife_meteo) December 26, 2022
The Aemet had warned that heavy rainfall was expected today in the western islands, with options of being locally persistent and accompanied by a storm.
The prediction already predicted that there would be snowfall on peaks of La Palma and Tenerife above 1,800 to 2,000 meters.
This morning yellow warnings had been activated in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas due to strong gusts of wind, while in La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Tenerife, warnings of the same color were in force due to rainfall, since up to 20 liters could accumulate per square meter in one hour.
Likewise, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura will also be under yellow warning due to suspended dust, which will cause visibility to drop below 2,000 meters occasionally.
It has snowed heavily on Mount Teide (video of the Parador exit), in #Tenerife and on the peaks of #LaPalma.
Access to both islands is closed, and people are asked not to try to climb.
#Canary Islands pic.twitter.com/EopLtzjwVJ
— Victor Hugo Perez (@victorhugopi) December 26, 2022
