The snow in Spain!

Delightfulg Ma drifts blanket Madrid

Record blizzards across Spain may have paralyzed parts of the country, snarling traffic and halting air travel, but residents of Madrid took to the streets to frolic in a winter wonderland.

Children bundled in hats and warm coats crowded the grand avenues near the Plaza de la Independencia in central Madrid to glide on sleds and build snowmen. Others took out skis to swoosh down empty city streets, while a group of teenagers rolled out a giant snowball in a central park.

The country experienced its heaviest snowfall since 1971, with between 10 and 20 inches of snow blanketing most of the country.

During the worst of Storm Filomena, Spanish authorities dispatched nearly 150 soldiers near the capital to help more than 1,000 motorists stuck in their vehicles as the snow fell Friday night through Saturday, according to reports.

Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the country was facing “the most intense storm in the last 50 years.”

The storm was also deadly. Authorities reported four fatalities across the country, including two people who were found frozen to death — one in the town of Zarzalejo, north-west of Madrid, and the other in the eastern city of Calatayud.

Two other victims were traveling by car in the southern city of Malaga when they were swept away by flooding as a river broke its banks.

With another 20 inches of snow expected to fall in some parts of the country, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on people to stay indoors.

A FROSTY ONE: Youth in Madrid build a snowman Saturday as much of Spain was left paralyzed by a record blizzard. Some brought sleds (below right) and even skis to the Plaza de la Independencia as parts of Spain were blanketed by as much as 20 inches of snow.