Tenerife weather, is there still a state of emergency, how rare are heavy snowfalls in the Canary Islands?
As Storm Therese sweeps across the Canary Islands, Tenerife recorded the lowest temperature.
AEMET, the Spanish State Meteorological Agency has issued an update on the weather in the Canary Islands and said: “Heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and significant accumulations are expected in the Canary Islands, potentially becoming locally very heavy. Significant snow accumulations are also likely on the island peaks, along with very strong gusts of southwest wind. Very strong easterly gusts are also expected in the Alboran Sea, and isolated heavy rainfall is possible in the Strait of Gibraltar area.”
“Storm Therese will maintain unsettled weather in the Canary Islands, with cloudy or overcast skies and widespread precipitation, occasionally accompanied by thunderstorms and a possibility of hail. Heavy rainfall is expected across large areas of the archipelago, with significant accumulations and potentially very heavy downpours on the higher islands, particularly on the southwest slopes of La Palma, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria, falling as snow above 1900-2200 meters.”
The Facebook page for the Cabildo of Tenerife, the administration responsible for the government of the island of Tenerife, shared photographs of snow in the popular tourist attraction Teide National Park covered in snow and wrote: “🌧️💨 #SAFETY La Borrasca #Therese leaves important numbers during the night in Telefe.
“💡 Electricity supply outage in Adeje and Guia de Isora affecting approximately 890 people 👉🏼 work is underway to restore service during the morning.
“💨 Very intense wind speeds 👉🏼 reaching 122 km/h in Izaña and close to 100 km/h in Arico.
“Notable actions ⤵️
“👥 Rescue of people in Boca Cangrejo, El Rosario, and under the La Alegría bridge in Tahodio, Santa Cruz, due to the flooding of the ravine.
“🪨 🛣️ Disasters that forced the closure or restriction of several roads 👉🏼 interruption of access to Almáciga via the TF-134 and landslides in the Bailadero tunnel, Anaga.
“🚒🚓 167 personnel worked throughout the night 👉🏼 Tenerife Firefighters, @carreterastenerife staff, BRIFOR (Forest Fire Brigade), the Red Cross in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and other services.
One person wrote in the Costa Adeje Tenerife ❤✈️Facebook group showed photographs on snow and wrote: “Weather on Teide today.” In response, one person wrote: “They usually close the road when snow comes,” whilst another said: “Anyone know when the good weather will return ?..bbc saying next Thursday !!!!”
It is expected that the Tenerife weather warnings will remain in place until at least Sunday March 22. Although snowfalls in the Canary Islands are rare, they do still occur, snow fell in the areas of Tenerife such as Mount Teide and Las Mesas (Gran Canaria) in January 2014.
Two years later, the Canary Islands also experienced significant snowfall in high-altitude areas of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and La Palma.