First snow falls in Portuguese capital since 1983

Snow fell in Lisbon on Sunday for the first time since 1983 and ice in central Portugal closed major motorways, local media and witnesses reported. Snow and sleet fell across the capital but did not settle as temperatures hovered around freezing...

Snow fell in Lisbon on Sunday for the first time since 1983 and ice in central Portugal closed major motorways, local media and witnesses reported.

Snow and sleet fell across the capital but did not settle as temperatures hovered around freezing point.

The motorway linking Lisbon to second city Porto was shut for much of the day as were several other motorways running from Lisbon to the interior, state news agency Lusa reported.

It said snow fell in the mountains of the southern Algarve tourist region. Temperatures fell as a cold front moved south across the country bringing rain and strong winds. The coldest temperature on Sunday was minus 8°Celsius, according to the SIC news channel. Yesterday's temperature rose to 10°Celsius.

Temperatures in parts of Europe have fallen to minus 30°Celsius this winter.

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