Sierra Nevada ski resort fires up its snow cannons and this is when it's due to open for winter season

The Sierra Nevada ski resort in southern Spain's Granada province was covered by fresh snow on Sunday, 16 November. Storm Claudia's rain transformed into snow from 2,500 metres above sea level.

Cetursa, the public company that manages the ski resort, also said that they had prepared the snow cannons to create more snow in the Borreguiles area. The drop in temperatures and the increase in the frequency of precipitations have created the perfect conditions to maintain the ski season for as long as possible. With that said, the announced start date of 29 November is maintained.

Cetursa is now focusing on increasing the thickness of the foundation that has been created with the snow cannons in areas such as the Zorro and Perdiz slopes, as these will gain a lot of traffic in the coming months. The current snow in Sierra Nevada is at "very high" levels and that it does not reach Prado Llano.

The Sierra Nevada received the first layer of storm Claudia's snow on Friday. This has had a positive impact on the ski resort, as the combination of snow, water and cold will make this first layer more likely to last longer over time.

The ski resort is scheduled to close on 28 April, some three weeks later than most other winter resorts of its type, with a hundred kilometres or more of skiable surface area. The date will be maintained as long as the weather permits.