Storm Gloria batters Costa Almeria with rain, snow, strong winds and high seas

ALMERIA is taking a battering as Storm Gloria sweeps across the province, bringing torrential rain, snow, strong winds and fierce seas.
Many people in inland areas woke up today Monday to wintery landscapes, icy temperatures and impassable roads.

The AEMET State Meteorology Office has issued an orange alert for the Los Velez and Almanzora Valley regions due to heavy snowfall. The provincial administration and the Sub-delegation of the Government in Almeria reported that sections of nine roads have been closed in Benizalon, Purchena, Collado Ramal, Velefique, Las Menas, Seron, Calar Alto, Tahal and Alcudia de Monteagud.
The Guardia Civil were called out to several people on the A-349 between Tabernas and Macael and the Al-5101 in Benizalon on Sunday night after their vehicles got stuck in snow.
The Emergencias 112 Andalucia service reported that 14 kilometres of the A-349 have now been cut off to traffic in both directions due to the accumulation of snow on the road surface.
Tyre chains are essential on a number of other roads, among them the AL-8100 in Oria, the AL-7100 running between Albox and Chirivel and the AL-8102 going from Velez-Rubio to Taberno.

There is a red alert in place for the AL-3404 from Alba to Ohanes. Buses and lorries are not allowed on a four-kilometre section and chains are obligatory.
Despite the communications problems, none of the province’s towns or villages have been left completely isolated, according to the Diputacion de Almeria.
British ex-pat residents posting on local Facebook forums did report intermittent power cuts in the Albox area though.
Down along the coast the main story is the huge waves pounding the beaches and a yellow AEMET alert for high winds.
In Vera Playa the sea is getting all the way up to the back of the sand, encircling chringuitos and doing no good at all to beach facilities.