Andorra road conditions, and how to read the snow colours

If you’re driving to Andorra between November and May, the question isn’t the weather forecast, it’s what the Andorran government says about the roads that morning. That comes from Mobilitat, the Department of Mobility, which runs a traffic centre day and night. Here’s where to look and how to decode the snow warnings, which read very differently from anything on British roads.

Who reports and where to look

Mobilitat’s national traffic centre combines a traffic control room and a tunnel control room that watches the Pont Pla, Sant Antoni, Ràdio Andorra, La Tàpia and the two Valira tunnels. It publishes incidents, closures, roadworks, journey times and even which car parks have space.

I’d use it in four ways depending on the moment. Before the trip, the website mobilitat.ad, with its incident map and forecasts. On the phone, the free Mobilitat.ad app, which shows live traffic density and lets you set alerts by parish or by type of incident, chains included. For a human voice, there’s the 24-hour line on +376 1802 1802. And the WhatsApp and Telegram broadcast channels, which push warnings without you having to go looking.

How do the snow phases work?

When it snows, Mobilitat switches on colour-coded phases set out in its winter manual and in a regulation under the Highway Code.

Yellow means snow is lying on the road. Winter tyres or chains are compulsory, the limit drops to 60 km/h and motorbikes, mopeds and e-scooters are banned. Orange warns of ice, lowers the limit to 50 km/h and requires chains on vehicles over 3,500 kg. Red means very adverse conditions, chains for every vehicle, a 30 km/h ceiling and an official request to postpone any trip that isn’t essential. Black means the road is impassable and closed to everyone except snowploughs and emergency services.

My own rule of thumb is simple. In yellow, drive gently with the kit fitted. In orange, only if you’re already on the road and confident fitting chains. In red, I’d stay wherever I was.

The date rule that catches hire cars

Separately from the colours, there’s a calendar rule. From 1 November to 15 May winter equipment is compulsory throughout the Andorran network. The manual recommends winter tyres once the average temperature falls below 7 °C, on all four wheels with at least 3 mm of tread, and reminds you that chains go on the driven wheels and cap your speed at 50 km/h. Studded tyres are only allowed within the same dates.

This is where British visitors get caught out. A car collected at Barcelona or Toulouse airport may have neither, and that’s your problem at the border, not the hire firm’s. Ask for it in writing when you book, and read driving to Andorra for the rest of the rules.

Coming from France, check the French side too

Mobilitat covers Andorran roads, but anyone arriving over the Envalira pass also depends on the French approach. Grandvalira reported a closure of the RN-20 at the end of January after a rockfall, with reopening planned from 9 March. Mobilitat lists the French road information line (+33 5 61 02 75 75) alongside the Catalan ones, and I’d call it before leaving Toulouse in winter.

For the weather itself, the manual points to meteo.ad, the national weather service. What conditions tend to be like at the highest village in the country is in Pas de la Casa weather.

Summer has its own traffic problem

Snow isn’t the only reason to check. For summer 2026 Mobilitat ran a special traffic plan from 6 July to 13 September, with an extra lane at the Spanish border and forecasts of up to 17,000 vehicles a day in August. Its peak windows were 10:00 to 14:30 coming in from Spain and 16:00 to 20:00 going out, so the app is just as useful on a sunny August Saturday as on a snowy January morning.

Cameras, radio and what to carry

Mobilitat publishes fixed road cameras, handy for seeing with your own eyes whether the tarmac is white. Slope and resort cameras are a different set, which I’ve gathered in Andorra webcams. Once you’re moving, the manual suggests tuning to Ràdio Nacional d’Andorra on 94.2 FM for live warnings.

For a winter drive I’d also carry warm clothes, water and a tank with plenty in it. The manual asks for exactly that in the black phase, when you can be stuck for a long time and shouldn’t leave the car unless you’re sure of finding shelter.