Snow leaves northern Spain cut-off

A lorry has jackknifed in the snow in Sant Hilari, Spain

MADRID, Spain -- Catalonia has remained isolated from the rest of Spain for two days after heavy snow trapped motorists and residents.

About 200 motorists were stuck in their vehicles on Sunday on the N-II and A-II motorways while 28 other major roads were blocked by snow blowing in from Siberia.

Up to 50 lorry drivers were reported to have been forced to sleep in their cabs while stuck in the tunnel of Bruc in the province of Barcelona, as firefighters and rescue workers attempted to reach them.

Rail routes between Manresa and Lleida were closed, while more than 30,000 homes in the area were without power.

Further south, in the regions of La Rioja, Castilla and Leon, temperatures fell to minus 10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

Spain's Meteorological Institute said the severe cold wave was expected to ease on Monday.