MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish capital, Madrid and much of neighboring Castilla-La Mancha, were on high alert on Friday for what meteorologists expect to be the heaviest snow in decades, brought by Storm Filomena.
Such events are rare in the region and tend to disrupt daily life and mobility, coming at a time when people are returning home after the Christmas and New Year holidays. This year, however, there is less traffic than usual due to restrictions on reducing the coronavirus pandemic.
As heavy snow began to fall, authorities said large parks in Madrid, including the famous Retiro near the Prado Museum, would be closed on Friday afternoon as a precaution.
With snow forecasts of up to 20 cm (almost 8 inches) in 24 hours and temperatures expected to hover around zero centigrade for much of the day, southern Madrid, including the capital, is at its highest level. alert for the first time since the creation of the system in 2007.
Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency, said the city is facing the heaviest snow, at least so far in the 21st century.
“Maybe we should go back to the snow of February 1984 or March 1971 to find similar precedents if the forecasts we expect are correct,” he added.
Light snow already covered Madrid on Thursday, a day after Spain recorded the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Iberian Peninsula, at -34.1C, in the northern Pyrenees.
Storm Filomena is advancing through Spain after hitting the Canary Islands with strong wind and rain.
In Gran Canaria, a ferry with 59 passengers and 17 crew members gave birth on Thursday night due to strong winds at the entrance to the port of Agaete.
On Friday, the Coast Guard towed the ferry to the port, with the passengers and crew still on board, unharmed.
(This story corrects Filomena’s Spanish spelling)
Reported by Emma Pinedo and Cristina Sanchez, edited by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones