An unexpected snowstorm which hit southern Europe in the past couple of days has taken towns and cities along the Spanish-French border by surprise, with widespread disruption to road and rail transport reported across the affected regions.
The snow - the heaviest seen in Barcelona since 1962 - fell across northern Spain, southern France and northern Italy on Monday (8 March) and also affected Spain’s Balearic islands and the French island of Corsica.
According to news agency AFP, 1,750 lorries on the French-Spanish border were left stranded on Tuesday, while parts of Catalonia were suffered power cuts and flight cancellations.
Up to 88 major roads in the northern Spanish region were still said to be affected by snow and ice today (10 March), with 19 roads remaining completely closed to traffic.
At La Jonquera on the Spain-France border, there were reported to be 19km of tailbacks on the AP-7 and a 9km traffic jam on the N-11 this morning heading into France, reported Europa Press.
Further snows and freezing temperatures are expected to continue to affect a large part of the Iberian Peninsula during the day, with Spain’s state weather agency Aemet forecasting that the brunt of the cold weather will be seen in the Pyrenees, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands.
Leading Barcelona-based fresh produce company CMR Group told Fruitnet.com that transport systems “collapsed” in the city during Monday, with roads closed and buses suspended, while power supplies were also disrupted.
However, the company, which is based at Barcelona’s Mercabarna wholesale market, said neither it nor any other operators at the site had experienced any major disruptions to business over recent days.
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