In southern Europe, unusual sights were offered at the beginning of the week: Storm Juliette caused the Balearic Islands to sink into snow chaos. In some places there was more than a meter of snow.
Mother Holle visited the islands of Formentera, Ibiza and Mallorca: there was up to 40 centimeters of snow in the Tramuntana Mountains in Mallorca. Even lower areas from 400 meters were surprised with snowflakes, writes the “Diario de Mallorca”.
Especially in the upper regions of Mallorca, the emergency services had a hard time. Sometimes they could only reach people who were snowed in after closing time. Power went out in several places. To deal with the consequences of Juliette, Mallorca asked the UME military emergency aid unit for help on Wednesday. UME writes on Twitter that 90 soldiers have been deployed to clean the streets with snow plows.
Snowed in people in the north of the island
In the monastery of Lluc, almost 100 travelers were snowed in without mobile phone reception and electricity. After all, the place of pilgrimage has enough places to sleep and eat. On Tuesday evening, mountain rescue reached the monastery in the north of the island. Most snowbound people spent the night there, regional newspapers report.
Gale-force winds with winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour in some cases smashed waves up to eight meters high on the rocky shores, especially in the north of the island. There was no snow on Menorca, but the island was cut off from supplies from the mainland due to strong winds.
Cold wave in regions of Spain
It was also unusually cold in other parts of Spain, with night frosts down to minus 10 degrees in the Pyrenees. It snowed in Barcelona and surrounding cities last night, reports the BBC.
Corsica has been warned for thunderstorms, floods and avalanches, writes the regional newspaper “Corse Matin”. On Twitter, users post photos of the unusual weather conditions.
The storm moved east toward Italy on Wednesday. In northwestern Spain, according to the national weather service Aemet, snow was still to be expected in some higher elevations, turning to rain at lower elevations.
Too dry for snow in Switzerland
While it is snowing in the south, there is still no hope of a winter comeback in Switzerland.
“It’s too dry,” says Klaus Marquardt of MeteoNews to Blick. In contrast to the Balearic Islands, the high pressure area currently prevails in Switzerland. The meteorologist says: “The air is too dry, so there is no rain here.” (jwg/an/SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
