This week is proving to be the coldest in Spain for the past 20 years. Freezing temperatures and heavy snow all over the Spanish peninsula have meant that people in coastal Mediterranean areas are experiencing the kind of Winter weather more associated with Northern and Central Spain. It snowed on the beaches of Denia, Javea and Benissa in the province of Alicante yesterday, and temperatures dropped to minus 1.5 degrees in Alicante itself. It has also snowed further south on the Costa del Sol and the Costa Cálida. Teruel was the coldest town in Spain last night, with minus 15 degrees.

Emergency services in the regions of Murcia, Valencia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Castilla y León, Castilla de la Mancha, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragón and the Balearic Islands are on alert today because of the possibility of further heavy snowfall. Most major roads which were shut down earlier this week because of snow or severe black ice have been re-opened, with the exception of the N120 and the N627, but many minor roads, especially in mountainous areas, remain closed.

Meanwhile one woman in La Rioja had to give birth in a car aided by her husband two days ago, when their vehicle got stuck in the snow just as they were on their way to hospital. The birth was successful, if a little cramped, and as soon as it was over the husband rang emergency services. A snowplough and police car were sent to the scene, and the mother and her perfectly healthy little baby boy were taken to the nearest hospital to recover.