STORM Ingrid has blanketed much of Andalucia in snow and forced the total closure of the Sierra Nevada ski resort as a ‘savage’ winter weather front sweeps across the region.
A massive one metre of fresh snow fell on the Granada peaks in just 24 hours, leaving the resort in a state of total collapse and creating a high risk of avalanches.
Management at the ski station confirmed a Level 4 out of 5 risk for avalanches and warned enthusiasts not to attempt to ski off-piste as conditions remained extremely dangerous.
The main A-395 access road to the resort was choked with traffic as the sheer volume of snow made the use of chains mandatory and left many drivers stranded in sub-zero temperatures.
While the mountains were buried in white, the province of Sevilla faced a different kind of chaos as intense rains caused a major road to literally buckle.
A massive sinkhole opened on the A-433 road between El Garrobo and El Castillo de las Guardas, swallowing a section of the tarmac and cutting off access to local residents.
The collapse has sparked a wave of public anger on social media, with critics pointing to a ‘calamitous’ state of Spanish infrastructure following a string of recent transport failures.
Angry commuters described the situation as ‘third world’ and called for political accountability as roads and railways across the country struggle to cope with the extreme weather.
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The snow line plummeted as low as 800 metres over the weekend, whitening the peaks of the Sierra de las Nieves and providing a rare winter backdrop for the Costa del Sol.
Snow was even spotted on the Sierra Tejeda behind Velez-Malaga and the peaks above Marbella and Estepona, as Arctic air poured through what experts call an ‘open freezer door’ in the jet stream.
Despite the travel misery, the storm has provided a vital lifeline for the region’s parched water reserves.
Provincial reservoirs in Malaga are moving toward a phase of normalisation for the first time in years, following the brutal drought that crippled the area between 2021 and 2023.
Experts noted that April 2025 was the last time reservoirs exceeded the 70 per cent mark, a milestone that could now be back in sight if the rainfall continues.
For now, the region remains on high alert as Storm Ingrid continues to batter the south, leaving residents to choose between digging out from the snow or navigating crumbling roads.
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