Weather alerts issued nationwide

Gale force winds in coastal areas of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, the Serra de Tramuntana and eastern and southern coasts of Mallorca are generating 4 metre high waves, according to the State Meteorological Agency.

The Basque Country and Cantabria are on red alert for gale force 10 winds and rough seas with 9 metre high waves.

Orange and yellow weather warnings have been issued elsewhere in Spain for winds gusting up to 110 kilometres an hour and heavy snowfall with Castilla y León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Madrid, La Rioja, the Valencian Community, Ceuta and Melilla likely to be the worst affected.

Up to 20 centimetres of snow is expected above 1,100 metres in Aragon and up to 4 centimetres in the north of Zaragoza Province and Huesca.

Extremely strong winds will batter Teruel, gusts of 90 kilometres an hour are forecast in Albacete and up to 70 kilometres an hour in the Sierra de Cuenca. It will also be very blustery in Murcia, Granada and Almería.

Stormy seas and 6 metre high waves are forecast in Asturias and along the coast of Galicia and A Coruña along with gale force 8 winds and the waves will be 6 metres high in Pontevedra.

At least 15 centimetres of snow is expected to fall above 800 metres in areas of the Lleida Pyrenees, the Aran Valley and Leon mountain range.

There will also be snow above 1,300 metres in the mountains of Madrid, in Picos de Europa, the mountains of Lugo, Orense and some areas of Ávila and Segovia.

A yellow weather warning has been issued for winds gusting up to 100 kilometres an hour in the Valencian Community, Galicia, Aragon, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Castilla y León, La Rioja and Extremadura.

Ceuta and Melilla are on yellow alert for westerly gale force 7 winds and 3 metre high waves.