In the Madrid area, rescuers reached 1,500 people trapped in cars, while police broke up a large snowball fight after officials appealed to citizens to stay home for the risk of an accident or the spread of coronavirus.
Forecasters warned of dangerous conditions in the coming days, with temperatures reaching minus 14 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) next week and the possibility of turning to snow and the fall of damaged trees.
In Madrid, in the case of accidents, police surrounded houses with heavy loads of snow on the roofs, but residents took to the streets in springs to enjoy a rare sight of their city filled with white.
About 100 workers and shopkeepers slept for two nights at a shopping center in Mazdahonda, north of Madrid, after being struck by snow on Friday.
“There are people sleeping on the ground on cardboard,” Evan Alcala, a restaurant worker, told TVE Television.
Madrid International Airport had suspended flights until Sunday night.
The hurricane affected about 20,000 kilometers of roads in central Spain and the government will send convoys carrying vaccines and food supplies to those in need, Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said on Saturday.
A car and a woman drowned after a river burst near Malaga in the south, while two homeless people died in Madrid and Calteud in the east, officials said.
The state Meteorological Agency (AMET) said 20-30 cm of rain fell in Madrid on Saturday. (7-8 inches) of snow, the heaviest rainfall since 1971.
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