Army called in to rescue about 600 Spanish motorists stuck in snow

View of Almenar castle amid snowfall in Soria, Spain January 19, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. X/@IsaacLopez79 via REUTERS

MADRID — Army units were mobilized to help about 600 drivers who were stuck on a motorway in heavy snow as Storm Juan blanketed many parts of Spain, authorities said on Friday.

Snowfalls left motorists stranded for hours on the N-122 road between Soria and Agreda in northern Spain so authorities said they had dispatched troops from a base in Zaragoza to help move the drivers.

Miguel Ángel Clavero, of the civil protection force, said on Friday that in Aragon in eastern Spain a number of roads were left unpassable by the snowfall and Zaragoza airport was closed.

READ: Madrid paralyzed after heavy snowfall

Temperatures plunged to minus 13 Celsius (8.6 Fahrenheit) in Soria, AEMET, the state weather forecaster, said on Friday.

Heavy rains fell in the western region of Extremadura and in Catalonia in northeastern Spain, Aemet added.

The storm was expected to pass by Saturday, forecasters said.