Storm leaves over 80 liters of rainfall in Tarragona area, with snow storm affecting traffic

A new rain and snow storm is affecting Catalonia on Saturday from the early hours. Only in the Camp de Tarragona area, in the south, experts registered over 80 liters of rainfall by 12 pm.

La Riba leads the rank with 83.6 liters, followed by Montblanc's 72.8 liters, and the 66.3 liters in Constantí, 21.1 of them in just 30 minutes, and the 56.3 liters in Tarragona, according to automatically gathered data by the Catalan meteorological agency.

The 112 emergency hotline received around 72 phone calls until 11 am related to snow and rain, with the county of Tarragonès calling 24 times.

Meanwhile, the snow storm is also intense and snow chains are compulsory in several roads, especially in the ones of the Eastern Pyrenees. The road that gives access to Port Ainé ski resort and the BV-4024 road have both been closed to traffic.

Catalan civil protection had activated, as protocol, the flooding and the snowing emergency levels, ahead of the rainy forecast for this weekend. Meteorologists forecast over 100 liters of rainfall at the Camp de Tarragona and in the Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees. Heavy snow is expected at 1,000 meters above sea level.

Officials also warn of the high risk of avalanche, which is why they are calling to increase precaution over the weekend when skiing.

"A lot of caution during outdoor activities," Imma Solé, deputy director of the Catalan civil protection, said on Saturday. "There can be difficulty because of the fog, it is not the time to do high mountainous activities," she added.

Solé also expressed her concern regarding the heavy rainfall expected as there can easily be floods. "We will need to be very cautious with rivers," she said.