People in Tenerife woke up today to the bizarre sight of the island’s iconic volcano covered in snow due to sub-zero temperatures at high altitude yet many other parts started the day bathed in sunshine.
Spanish Met Office forecasts of week-end rain proved accurate and, while the water may have proved a major dampener for the start of Carnival in Santa Cruz, it has brought a welcome boost for agriculture and helped fill reservoirs.
In anticipation of the major drop in temperatures on high due to the presence of an atmospheric phenomenon known as a DANA, the Tenerife authorities ordered the closure of roads leading up to the island’s majestic Mt Teide and its much-visited National Park as a precaution. The move proved wise given that conditions worsened on Sunday and turned treacherous in several areas as temperatures plunged, with black ice forming on roads.
The unusual conditions for early March have seen thermometers drop below zero in the highest parts of Tenerife and neighbouring La Palma, with hilly parts of Gran Canaria also seeing temperatures fall sharply (just 4ºC in Tejeda). However, temperatures elsewhere recorded more habitual levels, including the low 20s in parts of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and La Palma.
