• Direct: the cold snap lasts until Wednesday

  • Filomena The temporary invoice amounts to 1,398 million euros

"The people of Navacerrada ask

if Madrid is open

to go down with the children."

The joke spread like wildfire among WhatsApp groups.

The snow so longed for by thousands of Madrilenians who stormed up the mountains last Christmas

arrived at their doorsteps

.

The storm Filomena thus cut short the massive exodus of citizens to the ports of Navacerrada and Cotos, which had caused continuous cuts on the M-601 road and security problems with the evacuation of 350 people.

For once,

more snow fell in the center and south

of the Community of Madrid than in the Sierra de Guadarrama, so the mountain passes are now clear and with temperatures, curiously, milder than in the city.

The cold wave has caused

a phenomenon of thermal inversion

, which means that the cold stays in the lower areas, in such a way that there are colder temperatures on the plateaus and in the valleys than in the mountain areas, as reported yesterday the spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), Rubén del Campo.

In fact, unusual situations are being experienced such as the city of Madrid waking up

with eleven degrees below zero

, while in the Port of Navacerrada at that time a temperature of one degree below zero is registered.

This great thermal contrast is causing differences of

up to twenty degrees between the north and south of the region

, as happened yesterday when Villamanrique de Tajo had a temperature of seven degrees below zero compared to 13 degrees in Miraflores de la Sierra.

Faced with this situation, the skiers and mountaineers who managed to leave yesterday with the car from their homes found the perfect time to enjoy the mountains

with few people and pleasant temperatures

.

However, Community Emergencies 112 insists that the private vehicle not be used because the roads are still dangerous.

“The roads and parking lots are clean.

There is less influx of people, since the bus does not work.

The one who is coming to the mountains now is the

usual winter sportsman

, who wears snowshoes or cross-country skis, "said Héctor Sánchez, owner of Venta Marcelino, located in the port of Cotos, yesterday.

The Valdesquí and Navacerrada stations

operated normally yesterday

and the parking lot and the capacity of the first one were full on Thursday morning.

Valdesquí opened its doors on Three Kings Day and, shortly after, had to close due to the arrival of the storm Filomena.

The station already has

18 of its 22 kilometers

in operation

with a capacity of 75%, although there is not much snow either: from 20 to 60 centimeters, according to the station director, Agustín Ramírez, said yesterday.

Used to snowfall

The peoples of the mountains are also experiencing the Filomena storm with relative tranquility.

“The situation is quite controlled.

We already have a habit and

we have experienced bigger snowfalls than this one, "

said the acting mayor of Cercedilla, Raúl Martín, yesterday.

According to the first mayor, in this town they had already stocked up with salt like every year.

In addition, a truck and three wedge vans have swept the streets to remove snow.

“We have also

hired garden crews

to clean the sidewalks.

We are used to fighting snow.

It is our natural element, "added Arias.

Also in the neighboring town of Navacerrada they

were far-sighted

and began to work non-stop since last Thursday to prevent the snow from blocking communications.

The City Council has two snow plows, two other trucks

to move the salt and two pick-up cars to carry the shovels

that remove the snow.

In addition, there are urban salt shakers distributed throughout the municipality, and many residents also have their own excavating machines to remove snow from the doors of their houses.

Everything is under control.

The streets within the municipality are passable.

We are used to this snowfall

.

It is not the first time we see this, "concluded the mayor of the town, Ana Paula Espinosa.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid

PyRWhat taxes must be paid on 'online' purchases and how to avoid scares with the Treasury

ArtWhen the king saved Goya from the Inquisition after painting the 'Caprichos'

LeisureThe best plans to experience Christmas in Madrid in this atypical 2020

See links of interest

  • Coronavirus

  • Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv - TD Systems Baskonia

  • Real Madrid - Athletic, live