Snow falls in Barcelona area

Snow began falling in some counties in the Barcelona area in the early hours of Thursday morning, with the possibility of more throughout the day. Meanwhile, rainfall was moderate, without seriously affecting road traffic or public transport services. At 10 am, the temperature in the northern part of the Catalan capital was about 1ºC and fell to zero in some parts of the city’s metropolitan area. Atypically, the snow was falling on Thursday morning at as low as 200 meters above sea level.    

In La Selva county, more than 4,000 students had to leave schools earlier than usual, as 14 education centers have been closed due to the snow.

Barcelona on snow alert

Barcelona City Council has activated its emergency plan for snow, as it might fall in some of the higher areas of the Catalan capital, according to the weather forecast. Emergency bodies are already ready to act if necessary, and advice has been issued for citizens to “drive safely”.

Heavy snow in northern Catalonia

Earlier in the week, Catalonia’s mountainous areas saw heavy snow that began falling over the weekend, especially in the areas closest to the Pyrenees. Some 50 main roads in mountain areas of northern Catalonia were seriously affected by heavy snow. In fact, nine main roads in areas close to the Pyrenees were cut off, and driving with snow chains was mandatory on 44 roads. The Catalan police advised extreme caution when driving in the areas affected by the snow, as well as on roads hit by heavy rain and flooding. 

Heavy snow also affected rail and school transport services. In fact, more than 2,000 children were unable to attend school on Monday. Police and firefighters even had to rescue a group of 60 students, who had been trapped on the road from Toses to La Molina, in northern Catalonia.

The power supply was also affected by heavy snowfalls. On Monday evening, there were 5,000 in northern Catalonia without electricity. According to the Endesa power company, most of the households were in towns in the Alt Berguedà, Cerdanya and Alt Urgell areas. At the same time, the Barcelona Airport authorities reported flight delays of up to half an hour, due to extra security measures.