The Spanish authorities today advised people in Spain not to travel during the next few days because of freezing weather which is sweeping the country and which, combined with other adverse meteorogical conditions, promises to make driving even along main roads very dangerous indeed.

Freezing temperatures will start to affect most of Spain as from this afternoon, and temperatures will remain unusually low until Wednesday. The Spanish traffic authorities advise travellers to postpone any car journeys until mid-week.

Temperatures are expected to fall to minus ten degrees in Madrid and minus twenty degrees in Aragon over the next few days. Snow is forecast in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, Basque Region and the Balearic Islands, and gale-force winds are expected in Aragon, Castilla y Leon, La Rioja, Navarra, Madrid and the Canary Islands. And just to make conditions even more dire than they are already, torrential rain is forecast throughout southern Spain.

Travellers who have no choice but to travel in their car are advised to inform other people of their intended route and to keep in touch with them via a mobile telephone. Drivers are advised to make sure that their petrol tank is full and that they have blankets, warm clothing, food and drink in the car. In the event of becoming trapped in snowy or icey conditions, drivers are advised to keep the car engine and heater on, call for help and wait. Car windows should be fully lowered every half hour to ventilate the car, and drivers should check every half hour that the exhaust pipe is not blocked with snow, to avoid being affected by poisonous gas.