Mallorca is shivering with cold: On Monday, storm depression “Juliette” covered large parts of the Spanish Mediterranean island with a thick layer of snow of up to 50 centimeters as well as cold and heavy rain, as reported by the regional newspapers “Última Hora” and “Diario de Mallorca”. The authorities urged locals and holidaymakers to stay at home. Many interurban roads were impassable because of snow or fallen trees, as the “Mallorca Zeitung” reported.
In the island’s capital, Palma, the roadway of important roads collapsed in two places. Nobody got hurt. Videos showed how construction workers were busy in the morning closing an eight meter wide and four meter deep hole in an asphalt surface. The reason was probably an underwash. Storm gusts with wind speeds of sometimes more than 100 kilometers per hour lashed waves up to eight meters high on the rocky coasts, especially in the north of the island.
The snow line fell to around 300 meters in altitude. Sometimes it also snowed in the lowlands and even on the beaches. But the snow didn’t stay long in the bathing bays. Palma and the Ballermann were largely spared from the white splendor. A few snowflakes only formed in the higher-lying Son Vida district, where ex-soccer player Bastian Schweinsteiger lives, among others.
Many Mallorcans enthusiastically shared photos and videos of the snow-covered villages and streets on social networks. Most recently, there were a few snowy days in Mallorca at the beginning of the year. Because of the onset of winter, several roads had to be closed in the Tramuntana mountains. Some ferry services have been canceled due to high seas. The authorities called on citizens to be careful and stay at home if possible.
Snow or a lot of rain also fell on Monday in other higher areas of Spain, especially in the north-east of the country, for example in Catalonia. But the sudden onset of winter was particularly bad in Mallorca.
The national weather service Aemet therefore only issued the highest red alert for Mallorca, which until Tuesday primarily applied to the area around the Tramuntana mountains in the north of the island. Otherwise, either the orange or yellow alert level applies on all Balearic Islands at least until Wednesday.
The storm should then be gone on Wednesday. However, more flooding is feared when temperatures rise again and the snow in the mountains melts.