Saturday, January 09, 2010

That wind is bitter

This winter has been the worst that Pam and I have experienced so far in Bigastro and it isn’t set to get better just yet.

Yesterday, a cold front from the north brought cold weather back to the Alicante province and with it strong winds which made it feel even colder. In six municipalities children couldn’t attend school. In places like Banyeres, Agres and Alfafara  the snow was so bad that schools had to be closed affecting 2,500 children.

The State Agency AEMET predicts that the cold wind will continue through the weekend and that temperatures in some areas will drop to –5 or –6 degrees centigrade. However, it should remain dry.

The snow has brought a few problems on the roads; the A-31 to Villena had to be closed by 7pm and the CV-811 at Castalla had to be closed at 4pm. Apparently travelling was also difficult on secondary roads around Onil, Banyeres, Bihar and Jijona. On some of the motorways, drivers were obliged to use snow chains. Reports say that trains in the province were running as normal apart from on the section between Oropesa and Torreblanca.  

In Jérica, Viver, Sacañet and Benafer, in the province of Castellón, and Alcublas, Andilla, Gátova, Marin Viejo and Olocau and part of Valencia there were electricity cuts.

The forecast is for a change in the weather by Monday when it will slowly start to improve and return to normal for this time of year.  In the meantime the Valencian Community  is on pre alert (orange level) for snow at anything from 400 metres upwards.

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