Popular Spanish holiday hotspot becomes 'winter wonderland' as snow pours down

By Emily Wright, World News Reporter

Despite the start of Spring, a popular Spanish town was transformed into a winter wonderland. (Image: @viictormf_97/ @davidguillenn_ (X))

The roads and terraces of a pretty Malaga town were turned white in a matter of hours on Tuesday (March 25) following an onslaught of snow. Alhaurin el Grande in southern Spain soon resembled a winter wonderland as much of the region faced yellow weather warnings. 

Footage shared online showed streets appearing to be covered in snow, while others had transformed into rapids as the hail melted. State weather agency Aemet placed the Costa del Sol on an emergency yellow alert on Tuesday afternoon, joining Ronda, Cadiz province, and the coast of Huelva. Up to 15 millimetres of rainfall were expected within an hour. 

The wet weather comes from the remains of Storm Martinho, which has battered much of the coast. (Image: Getty)

Forecasters were forced to include the Costa del Sol amid intense, localised showers. The alert was put in place on the coast and some inland areas, including Alhaurin el Grande, until 7pm on Tuesday, extended to 8pm in all other affected areas. 

According to reports, noted by The Olive Press, some cars on the AP-7 motorway were forced to pull over or take refuge in service stations during the intense downpours.

The wet weather comes from the remains of Storm Martinho, which was set to leave the Peninsula on Tuesday evening after battering much of the southern coast of Spain. 

Spain has experienced one of the wettest Marches on record. There have been four named storms in just 12 days, with two of both striking last week - Laurence and Martinho. Storm Laurence killed at least three people in Andalusia, while hundreds of people were evacuated across Malaga, Marbella, Seville and elsewhere due to flooding.

However, Brits heading off on holiday should not be disheartened by recent weather events, as the heat is set to finally return this weekend after weeks of wet weather. 

Forecasters predict highs of up to 27C in Andalusia and along the Costa del Sol. The mercury has already begun to climb elsewhere in Spain, reaching 19C in Seville on Tuesday, after a noticeable drop last weekend. 

This trend is set to continue across the region throughout the week, reaching a peak on Saturday (March 29). 

Highs between Estepona, Marbella and Malaga city will range between 24C and 27C, according to Aemet, while the Atlantic coast of Cadiz and Huelva, as well as inland areas like Granada, will see lower maximums of 21C.