Storm Filomena
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Storm Filomena was a
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
in early January 2021 that was most notable for bringing unusually heavy
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
fall to parts of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, with Madrid recording its heaviest snowfall in over a centur

and with
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
being hit less severely. The eighth named storm of the 2020–21 European windstorm season, Filomena formed over the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
close to the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
on 7 January, subsequently taking a slow track north-eastwards towards the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and then eastwards across the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. As Filomena was crossing the Iberian Peninsula, the leading edge of the storm collided with cold air that was being channeled down from the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
by an area of high pressure centred over the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
; the constant supply of cold air and slow movement of Filomena resulted in persistent heavy snowfall, reaching up to in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. At least 5 people were killed due to the effects of cold weather in Spain during the passage of Filomena: three in Madrid and two in
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
. Impacts elsewhere were minimal as Filomena moved away from the high to its north, lost its supply of cold air and weakened, and the storm was last noted over
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
on 15 January. The storm killed 5 people and caused an estimated $2.2 billion (2021
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
;
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
1.8 billion) in damages.


Meteorological history

Storm Filomena formed as a low pressure centre along a frontal boundary over the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
on 7 January. By then, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Iberia was registered at Vega de Liordes, in the
Picos de Europa The Picos de Europa ("Peaks of Europe", also the Picos) are a mountain range extending for about , forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain. The range is situated in the Autonomous Communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castil ...
, at −35.8 °C. The system then moved slowly north-eastwards, crossing the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
between 8–10 January; the storm's slow movement contributed to the duration and severity of snowfall across
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. During the time of Filomena's passage over the Iberian Peninsula, a powerful high-pressure system, named ''Anticyclone Antje'' by the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
(FUB), was centred over the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, bringing cold air from the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
across the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
and down into the vicinity of Storm Filomena. This cold air became entrained into the leading edge of Filomena as it pushed north-eastwards against the southern edge of the area of high pressure, leading to heavy snowfall. After emerging into the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, Filomena accelerated eastwards away from the area of high pressure, losing its supply of cold air in the process. Filomena crossed
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on 11 January with minimal impacts, before stalling again between Italy and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
on 11–12 January. Considerably weakened by this time, Filomena then moved over
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and stalled for a third time on 13–14 January, before accelerating northwards across the eastern
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
on 15 January. Filomena was last noted as a weak low over eastern
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
later that day, before being absorbed by a deeper low named ''Cyclone Dimitrios'' by the FUB by 16 January.


Impact

The State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) named Storm Filomena on 5 January as they issued the first weather warnings ahead of the anticipated severe impact of the system. Near the coasts, wind gusts of up to occurred as Filomena made landfall on 7 January, as well as of rain in southern areas of Spain and Portugal which caused some
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
ing. Further inland and in higher elevations, snowfall of up to was recorded. In the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
mountains of southern Spain, wind gusts of up to accompanied the large snow totals, leading to
blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
conditions. Due to the unprecedented amount of snowfall, some unsuspecting motorists were trapped on the roads for hours. As Filomena began to move into the area, snow began to fall in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
on 7 January. This was followed by 30 hours of continuous snowfall on 8–9 January. On 9 January, AEMET reported between of accumulated snow from its
weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
s within Madrid. The severity of the event was unmatched by any previous snowfall in the Spanish capital since at least 1971. The EMT's bus lines, the commuter rail
Cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
as well as Madrid-Barajas airport all stopped operating due to heavy snowfall. The
Metro de Madrid The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gro ...
became the only available public transportation system, staying open 24 hours for only the second time in its history after the event. Early estimates showed that around 150,000 trees in the city (18.5% out of the 800,000 registered trees) were damaged or had collapsed due to the snow. Later assessments by the Madrid Town Hall gave figures of 70% of trees in historical parks, 15% of trees in singular parks and an additional 450,000 trees in forest parks being damaged by the storm. Conifers and Mediterranean evergreen trees were particularly affected. During these events in Madrid,
winter sport Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...
s were practiced in the city. The slopes of the in Vallecas were used as snowboarding runs. The roof of "La Nevera", in the IES Ramiro de Maeztu school, the traditional home of the
CB Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 19 ...
youth system, collapsed due to the weight of snow. The
Military Emergencies Unit The Emergency Military Unit ( es, Unidad Militar de Emergencias, UME; ) is a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for providing disaster relief throughout Spain mainly, and abroad if required. It is the newest branch of the Spanish A ...
(UME) contributed to clear up accesses to hospitals—the event took place amid the third wave of the deadly
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and the connected vaccination effort—and the Madrid–Barajas Airport lanes. Five people were killed in Spain during the passage of Filomena. By 9 January, two homeless people had died from the effects of cold weather, one in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and one in
Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-larges ...
. Two more deaths occurred due to flooding in
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
. On 16 January, a fifth dead body was found under lying snow in the
Arganzuela Arganzuela is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, Spain. Geography Position Arganzuela is located in central-southern Madrid, separated from Latina, Carabanchel and Usera by the river Manzanares. The other bordering districts are Cen ...
district of Madrid. File:Calle de Manuela Malasaña, Madrid 2021-01-08 - 50857127943.jpg, Shattered trees in Calle de Manuela Malasaña File:Cerro-del-Tío-Pío-2021 01 12-01.webm, Snowboarders in Vallecas File:Bus varado en plaza de España, Filomena.jpg, EMT bus stranded in
Plaza de España Plaza de España (Square of Spain) may refer to: In Spain * Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona in Barcelona * Plaça d'Espanya (Palma) in Palma, Mallorca * Plaza de España, Madrid in Madrid * Plaza de España (Pontevedra) in Pontevedra * Plaza de Es ...


Aftermath

The majority of roads in Madrid still remained blocked by snow a week after the snowstorm, with small streets and the city periphery being particularly affected. Delays in clearing snow in the city led to closure of Madrid schools until the 20th of January. On the 16th of January, a body was found under the snow in Arganzuela district of Madrid. The snowstorm fully paralyzed the waste collection service for 4 days. As of 15 January only a 13% of the 9,000 tonnes of litter accumulated on the streets had been removed. The Mayor of Madrid,
José Luis Martínez-Almeida José Luis Martínez-Almeida Navasqüés (born 17 April 1975) is a Spanish state lawyer and politician. A member of the People's Party (PP), he has been a member of the Madrid City Council since 2015 and has been Mayor of Madrid since 2019. B ...
required the Government of Spain for the declaration of Madrid as
disaster area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and serv ...
and numbered in 1,398 million
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s the damages caused by the storm. The bill however also reportedly included the money foregone on parking meters and paddle tennis courts. A presence of rodents was detected during the spillover of the Storm Filomena, as the waste collection service ceased to operate. By early February a plague of roof rats (black rats) was reported to have installed around the area of Méndez Álvaro.


See also

*
Storm Gloria Storm Gloria was a Mediterranean storm which affected eastern Spain and southernmost France with high winds and heavy rainfall. The system was named ''Gloria'' by the Spanish meteorological agency AEMET on 18 January, becoming the tenth named s ...
– a similarly slow-moving extratropical cyclone in January 2020 which caused catastrophic flooding over the Iberian Peninsula.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madrid snowstorm, 2021
Snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these sto ...
2021 natural disasters 2021 meteorology Blizzards January 2021 events in Spain Weather events in Spain European windstorms