Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
RATHER than sun, sea and sand people fell victim to snow, sleet and shivers after freak blizzards hit the Costa del Sol.
After having to endure record rainfall dozens of unwitting people succumbed to extreme snowfall.
Britons and Spanish were left knee deep and stranded in snowfall just 15 miles from Torremolinos.
Scores of cars became trapped on mountain passes around the Sierra de las Nieves mountains between Ronda and Malaga.
Drivers were forced to hole up in their cars for a number of hours, as the freezing conditions took hold.
One expat Kenton Smith, 47, from London, revealed how he and dozens of other drivers were forced to abandon their cars and walk down to the nearby village of Yunquera.
“It was blizzard conditions. Normally, you can see the Costa del Sol, and on clear days, Africa.”
“There was well over a foot of snow in places and cars were going nowhere.
“It was blizzard conditions. Normally, you can see the Costa del Sol, and on clear days, Africa.”
It took the arrival of the locally-owned private snowplough that allowed everyone to get their cars out.
“We moved here seven years ago to escape the doom and gloom back in England,” added Kenton, a photographer, who also owns his own olive oil products company Lujos.
“Now we feel as if we’re back in the Peak district!”
After having to endure record rainfall over the Christmas period, areas of Andalucia have now succumbed to extreme snowfall.
Parts of the Sierra de las Nieves and the Serrania de Ronda were hit by sudden snowfall rendering driving conditions extremely hazardous.
Smith added: “I never would have thought a 3000-strong village in southern Spain would have access to a snow plough!”
I was driving down from Ronda to San Pedro on last Friday in the snow. I must say that I never have seen this there but also the biggest problem is not the road but the Spaniards who are not used to this weather and then try to drive…..
The Spanish are amongst the worst drivers in the world. They take unnecessary risks and put other drivers in danger for no reason through They cannot drive properly in good weather, let alone snow and ice. You can always tell an expat driver – they INDICATE, lol.
Brilliant headline from March 2000 in the Independent ” Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past”! The most classic quote comes from David Viner (a climate scientist at UEA – the university of ClimateGate fame) who said that within a few years “British children just aren’t going to know what snow is”. Now even Spanish children are familiar with it.