Snow Storm in Catalonia: Charming for Tourists, Hell for Locals

Heavy snow fell along the French-Spanish boarder in the Pyrenees Mountain range this week, leaving 6,000 travelers stranded, blocking around 40 roads, disrupting airplane schedules, and leaving 250,000 residents without power. In addition, the heavy snow forced officials to close the Spanish and French border leaving 4,000 trucks stuck in sub-zero temperatures and causing a 30-mile traffic jam. The Catalonia region of Spain was the heaviest hit, with around two feet of snow in just a few days.

The Catalan meteorological office said conditions would slowly improve but warned that unusually cold temperatures would continue with widespread frost and ice. “I don’t recommend traveling by car unless it is absolutely vital,” an official said. The Catalan regional president also admitted things would not get back to normal as quickly as some might hope. “Some things cannot be repaired in hours,” the president said. The answer from electricity companies is the same, “we don’t know how long it [the power outages] will last.”

Image: Daily Mail

Residents of Barcelona weren’t spared from the brutal storm either. The city recorded its heaviest snowfall since 1962, leaving popular landmarks like Gaudi’s famous La Sagrada Familia blanketed in snow. Although it might have been romantic for tourists, locals were unquestionably feeling the strain of this unusually extreme weather.

Since the blizzard hit around lunchtime, tens of thousands of office workers had no way to get home after the heavy snow forced the suspension of all bus services around the city. To avoid mass chaos, Barcelona City Hall mandated the metro system stay open through the night so people would be able to make their way home from work. The city also reserved around 3000 beds in 50 hotels at a reduced price for those commuters whose routes home were completely shut down.

[Image: Victoria_Sanderson/Flickr]