Spain is cold, very cold. Storm Juliette plunges the country back into the middle of winter with huge snowfalls in the Mediterranean archipelago of the Balearic Islands, gusts of wind and freezing temperatures of minus 16 degrees in the center.
Yet renowned for their mild and pleasant climate, which make it a paradise for European tourists, the Balearic Islands are the most affected, especially the largest island, that of Majorca. “In some places in the north of Mallorca, the snow cover has exceeded one meter in 24 hours above 800 meters,” said the spokesman for the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet), Rubén del Campo, who spoke of “extraordinary” snowfall.
Landslides in Palma de Mallorca
Majorca also recorded violent gusts which reached 117 km / h, according to Aemet, as well as torrential rains, local media reporting more than 100 liters per square meter in many localities. These rains could be the cause of several landslides in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the island, the most important having produced a gaping hole eight meters in diameter and four meters deep on an avenue of the city.
It also snowed at sea level in San Sebastian in the Basque Country, and in Catalonia where the upper part of Barcelona, as well as coastal localities south of the great Catalan metropolis, were carpeted in white at daybreak. “This is the heaviest snowfall since March 2018” in Barcelona, said Rubén del Campo.
Temperatures at the lowest
In the interior of the country, the famous “Cold Triangle”, an area straddling Aragon and Castile known for its harsh winter climate, has lived up to its reputation. The town of Molina de Aragón, in the province of Guadalajara (Castilla-La Mancha region), woke up Tuesday morning with a temperature of minus 16 degrees, while it was minus 11 degrees not far from there in Teruel (Aragon), according to the temperatures recorded by the Aemet.
Rubén del Campo further clarified that the “meteorological spring”, which begins this Wednesday, will begin with “minimum temperatures five to ten degrees below normal in most” of the country. The interior of the country will still be on alert for the cold on March 1, while the Balearic Islands will be for the wind and the tides.