2021 Madrid snowstorm

The 2021 Madrid snowstorm was an extreme weather event in Madrid caused by the passing of Storm Filomena across the Iberian Peninsula in January 2021. Snow first fell on Madrid on 7 January.[3] Snow started falling on 7 January followed by 30 hours of continuous snowfall on 8 and 9 January. On 9 January, Spain's meteorological agency AEMET reported between 50 and 60 cm of accumulated snow from its weather stations within the city.[4][5] The severity of the event was unmatched by any previous snowfall in the Spanish capital since at least to 1971.[4]

Madrid snowstorm of 2021
The snowfall as captured by the Sentinel-2 satellite of the European Space Agency on 11 January 2021
TypeSnowstorm
FormedJanuary 2021
Maximum snowfall or ice accretion60 centimetres (24 in)
Casualties2+[1][2]

The EMT's bus lines, the commuter rail Cercanías as well as Madrid-Barajas airport, stopped operating. The Metro de Madrid became the only available public transportation system, staying open 24 hours for only the second time in its history after the 2017 Madrid WorldPride.[6][7] Early estimates showed that around 150,000 trees (18.5% out of the 800,000 registered trees) were damaged or had collapsed due to the snow.[8] Later assessments by the Madrid Townhall gave figures of 70% of trees in historical parks, 15% of trees in singular parks and an additional 450,000 trees in forest parks being damaged by the storm. Conifers and Mediterranean evergreen trees were particularly affected.[9]

The roof of "La Nevera", in the IES Ramiro de Maeztu school, the traditional home of the CB Estudiantes youth system, collapsed due to the weight of snow.[10] The Military Emergencies Unit (UME) contributed to clear up accesses to hospitals—the event took place amid the third wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and the connected vaccination effort—and the Madrid–Barajas Airport lanes.[5][11]

Aftermath

The majority of roads in Madrid still remained blocked by snow a week after the snowstorm, with small streets and the city periphery being particularly affected.[12] Delays in clearing snow in the city led to closure of Madrid schools until the 20th of January. [13] On the 16th of January, a body was found under the snow in Arganzuela district of Madrid.[2]

References
  1. Duch, Dani (9 January 2021). "Muere un hombre sin hogar en Madrid a causa del frío y otro sepultado por la nieve en Zarzalejo". La Vanguardia.
  2. "Aparece bajo la nieve el cadáver de un hombre en una calle de Madrid". El Confidencial. 16 January 2021.
  3. "Llega la nieve a Madrid: la Comunidad pide quedarse en casa y moverse sólo "lo indispensable"". El Español. 7 January 2021.
  4. Pereda, Olga; Santos, Pilar (10 January 2021). "Observatorios de Madrid registraron espesores de nieve de entre 50 y 60 cms". La Vanguardia.
  5. "En la capital nevó 30 horas seguidas entre el viernes y el sábado". COPE. 11 January 2021.
  6. Belver, Marta (11 January 2021). "El reto inédito del Metro de Madrid debido al temporal: más de 100 horas de servicio ininterrumpido". El Mundo.
  7. Viejo, Manuel; Vega, Luis de (10 January 2021). "Metro: el telesilla que se salvó de 'Filomena' para unir a Madrid". El País.
  8. Calleja, Ignacio S. (12 January 2020). "La gran nevada ha dañado cerca del 20% del arbolado en calles y zonas verdes de Madrid". ABC.
  9. "Filomena arrasa con el 70% del arbolado de los Parques Históricos madrileños". El Confidencial. 10 January 2021.
  10. "La histórica Nevera del Ramiro de Maeztu se derrumba por la nieve: "Es una catástrofe"". El Mundo. 10 January 2021.
  11. González, Manuel (10 January 2021). "El Ejército despeja accesos a hospitales y apoya a Sanidad con ambulancias militares". El País.
  12. "La mayoria de calles de Madrid siguen bloqueadas". La Sexta. 18 January 2021.
  13. "Aparece bajo la nieve el cadáver de un hombre en una calle de Madrid". La Sexta. 18 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.