A freak snowstorm dumped more than a metre of snow on the Pyrenees mountains, stranding more than 6,000 travellers on Tuesday and blocking 40 roads between France and Spain. Barcelona on Monday saw its heaviest snowfall since 1962, triggering emergency measures. Disruption was felt across the region, as far away as the French Mediterranean island of Corsica.
Cross-border traffic was halted, leaving a tailback of 1,750 trucks on the French flank of the mountains, parts of which suffered last week when the area was battered by hurricane-force winds and heavy rain. Northeastern Spain juddered to a frozen standstill late on Monday. Flights were cancelled, schools closed and the entire Barcelona region had serious disruption to road and rail transport.
In the Girona region, Spanish energy company Fecsa-Endesa said 200,000 households were without electricity, while snowfalls of up to 500mm closed schools on Tuesday for 165,960 pupils. In the Aude region of southwest France, firefighters and local authority workers brought hot food and drink to 1,800 passengers stuck on trains, and 550 retirees and school children on bus tours to Spain.
"In Perpignan, passengers were able to bed down on a sleeper train, but we spent the night sitting up and didn't even get blankets until 3am," complained Jean-Marc Rossignol, escorting his 75 and a 82-year-old parents to Toulouse. The main A9 motorway was blocked by snow, and hundreds of travellers sought temporary shelter in municipal buildings along the route.
Corsica's highlands were carpeted by 100mm of snow, and roads left treacherous by sheets of black ice. Several passes were closed, and forecaster Meteo France predicted conditions would worsen.
On mainland France, forecasters predicted some sunny periods but continuing sub-zero temperatures.
More:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/freak-snow-falls-in-spain-strands-6000-20100309-pt3u.html
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