VIDEO: Snowstorm paralyses Spain, temperatures to drop below -10°C
Children riding sleds are being pulled by their parents amid a heavy snowfall in Madrid. AFP
Gulf Today Report
A snowstorm blanketed Madrid and parts of Spain on Sunday prompting authorities to race in to clear the roads of snow before a cold snap transforms them into icy death traps.
The weather body expects that half of the Spanish territory would witness severe weather conditions from Sunday.
"If the forecast is correct, we will face one of the biggest snowstorms in recent years," said Robin Delcampo, spokesman for the National Meteorological Agency.
Madrid is covered under thick layers of snow.
A snow alert has been declared in half of the Spanish territory, especially in the central, northern and eastern regions.
Emergency crews in central Spain cleared 500 roads and rescued over 1,500 people stranded in their vehicles, allowing Madrid and other areas on Sunday to slowly shovel out of the country's worst snowstorm in recent memory. Ducks were seen walking on the freezing waters of the Retiro Park pool in Madrid, while temperatures dropped below zero.
In mountainous areas temperatures would drop below -10°C (14 Fahrenheit), conditions that could last until Thursday, the agency added.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Sunday that the danger was that the piles of snow could transform into ice because of the unprecedented low temperatures expected.
Storm Filomena killed three people during its passage through Spain and kept emergency service workers and army snow ploughs busy through Saturday, freeing 2,500 drivers trapped in their vehicles.
