Flights to and from Tenerife's airports disrupted as island hit by rare snow

Tenerife has been hit by snow as Storm Therese brought adverse weather conditions to the Canary Islands.

Spain’s weather service AEMET has said the bad weather is expected to last several days and warned of strong gusts that could cause localised flooding and landslides.

Winds of more than 90 kilometres an hour are expected on the highest points of the Canary Islands.

There has been heavy disruption to flights to and from Tenerife. / Credit: Cabildo de Tenerife

Local broadcaster RTVE warned of potentially heavy snow and rain at higher altitudes, with heavy downpours also forecast for western Andalusia and the Strait of Gibraltar.

Flights to and from Tenerife’s airports have been cancelled or redirected, while universities on the island have suspended teaching.

Storm Therese moved to the Canary Islands on Thursday, and over 100 incidents have since been reported, mostly related to snow and wind, local media said.

The Spanish government issued official alerts for rain, wind and waves across the Canary Islands, and said the difficult conditions would continue through the weekend.

The storm is expected to subside on Sunday but rain will continue throughout next week.

Storm Therese was named by the Portuguese weather office on Monday.