After a heavy snowfall paralysed the Spanish capital, schools, courts
and museums were closed throughout Madrid on Monday, AFP reported.

Officials have directed people to stay at home if possible after Storm
Filomena dumped between 20-30 centimetres (7-8 inches) of snow on Madrid on
Saturday, the heaviest snowfall since 1971.

All schools, libraries and cultural institutions will be closed on Monday
and Tuesday. Courts will also remain shut till Wednesday.

The storm has claimed the lives of at least three people, keeping
emergency service workers and army snowploughs busy as they freed 2,500 drivers
trapped in their vehicles.

People walk through the snow in Madrid.

Lacking reinforcements, officials had only managed to clear main roads
of snow and fallen tree branches, with most pavements, smaller roads and
residential areas still covered.

The authorities are worried about the prospect of snow turning to ice,
with temperatures expected to fall to up to minus 11 Celsius (12 Fahrenheit) on
Monday and minus 13 (9 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

The regional government of Madrid has distributed 277 tonnes of salt to
the area’s municipalities to prevent the formation of ice. It is expected to
receive another 3,500 tonnes of salt in the coming days from eastern Spain.

 A man clears the snow from a road close to his car as the snow falls in the small village of Espinal in northern Spain.

The government has insisted the road block will not affect the
distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, with 350,000 doses due to be rolled
out nationwide on Monday.

“The delays — if there are delays — will be minimal and
slight,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Spanish public
radio. The distribution of the jabs to all regions was “guaranteed”,
he added.

Also Read | Spain hit by rare snowfall as temperature dips to -34.1°C

The first flights resumed from Madrid airport on Sunday after the army
cleared snow from the runways. Madrid metro operated round the clock for the second
consecutive day ensuring essential workers get to their jobs. Rail services are
still in the process of re-establishment. A total of 138
roads across Spain remained closed on Monday and nearly 700 were affected by
the storm.

Most residents heeded the government’s call to stay at home on Monday, with
the capital’s streets all but deserted and quiet, except for the sound of
shovels scraping snow and ice.

“It’s a day to stay home,” said Javier Bermejo, a butcher in
the local market.