Extreme Temperatures
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Ice Cube

Europe disrupted as snow turns to ice

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© AAP Hundreds of flights have been cancelled as a late-winter snowstorm batters northwestern Europe.
Icy roads are disrupting transport as north-western Europe remains in the grip of unseasonable weather.

The snowstorm on Monday and Tuesday, a few days before the official start of spring on March 20, caused widespread travel chaos with the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the suspension of train services including cross-Channel Eurostar trains.

The Eurostar link between London and Paris, the Thalys line between Paris and Brussels and other high-speed connections in northern France resumed running early on Wednesday, though there were delays.

After being forced to close briefly, Frankfurt Airport, Europe's third-busiest, said it expected services to progressively return to normal after 812 flights were cancelled on Tuesday.

France was the worst affected by the snowstorm but Belgium, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands also reported major disruptions.

Snowflake Cold

Record 'winter' storm in Europe: 100km/h winds, snowdrifts over 3 metres high and 10,000 motorway drivers stranded in Hungary alone

Tanks have been deployed to reach snowbound motorists in Hungary as cold weather causes transport chaos across central Europe.

T-72 battle tanks trundled along icy roads, while thousands of people waited in cars on the M1 motorway from Budapest to Vienna.

Many had been stuck on the road since Thursday evening.


Snowflake Cold

Worst 'winter' storm in 150 years hits Belarus, country grinds to halt

Here are some photos from Belarus showing the results of the strongest blizzard in at least 150 years (and it's not over yet). And don't forget that it's mid-March right now! Transportation was disrupted, so people had to spend hours in order to get home from work. Also, notice that one of the pictures shows flooded roads. It's Gomel. This city is located in the south of the country, so instead of low temperatures and the blizzard, they got +8C, heavy rains and floods.

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Windsock

Huge storm system brings record snow, flooding and Arctic cold to Spain (in March!)

BBC Weather's Tomasz Schafernaker has more on the recent snowy weather in central and northern parts of Spain.


Ice Cube

Record-breaking cold spell sees rare 8ft-high snowdrifts in Guernsey, one of UK's warmest spots

It describes itself as the warmest corner of the British Isles ... not that you'd know it from this picture. The worst snow storms in 26 years have caused havoc on the Channel Islands this week, leaving drifts up to 8ft deep. The airport on Guernsey had to be shut for two days while more than 15,000 tons of snow were removed from the runway.

The islands caught the same storms that crippled northern France, where shoulder-deep drifts led to Channel Tunnel trains being cancelled and long queues on the M20 as lorries waited for delayed ferries. Although most of the Guernsey and Jersey snow is now melting, weather men predict another cold snap next week.

This picture was taken by Danielle Stonebridge, 21, a Guernsey resident and part- time photographer, of her father Dave, 61.
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Snowy: These pictures were taken by Danielle Stonebridge, 21, of her father Dave, 61
Additional images

Igloo

Moscow braces for biggest March snowfall in 50 years


Residents of Moscow are surely used to wintry weather-- but the city is bracing itself for the biggest March snowfall on record in 50 years.

Heavy snowfall started early Wednesday morning, with forecasters predicting that up to 25 centimetres of snow will fall in the next three days.

Local authorities promised to use more than 15,000 snow-ploughs to clean up the roads. The mayor's office urged locals to keep their cars off the roads and use public transport instead.

Temperatures are expected to go below minus 20 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours. Even for Moscow,known for its harsh climate, the snowfall is unusual this time of the year.

This week, Russians traditionally mark the coming of spring with celebrations.

Igloo

Thousands without electricity in France winter storm

French Snow
© France24Cars drive through the snow on March 11, 2013 in Honguemare-Guenouville, northwestern France. More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow.
More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow, officials and weather services said.

An accident near the northern city of Lille involving three cars that skidded in icy conditions on a motorway left 14 people injured, including six firefighters.

Twenty-six regions in northwest and northern France were put on orange alert because of heavy snowfalls, which Meteo France said were "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".

Conditions were forecast to improve early Wednesday.

Snowflake Cold

Unseasonal winter storm strikes northern Europe

Unseasonably severe weather struck much of France on Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of homes temporarily without electricity and paralysing travel across Europe.


Just when many in France allowed themselves hope that spring may be around the corner, a fresh flurry of heavy snowfall struck much of the country, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity and disrupting travel across Europe.

French weather service Metéo France put two regions in the northwest on red alert - the highest possible - and 28 other regions across the country's north and northwest on orange alert because of the winter storm, calling the snowfall "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".

Snowflake

Washington DC shuts down ahead of winter snow storm

midwest snow
© Getty ImagesAs much as 10in (25cm) of snow fell on Chicago on Tuesday
US government offices are closed as the East Coast braces for a blizzard that dumped heavy snow on Midwestern states in recent days.

Schools are shut and more than 1,500 flights cancelled at Washington DC and Baltimore airports, with up to a foot (30cm) of snowfall predicted.

Officials have warned of power cuts in the mid-Atlantic region between New England and the south-eastern states.

On Tuesday, Chicago saw heavy snowfall with about 10in reported in some areas.

Snowflake

Furious snow storm descends on Chicago - 1000 flights canceled

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Mother Nature is apparently saving the best, or at least the biggest, for last. Chicago residents expected to find themselves in the midst of a storm that could wind up dumping as much as 10 inches of snow in the area before the end of Tuesday - the most since the 2011 blizzard and its more than 20 inches of snow. "This will be the biggest widespread storm of the winter," National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley said. The forecast is for 8 to 10 inches throughout northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana, a far cry from last March, which saw less than a half-inch of snow and was the warmest one on record in Illinois. Hardware stores in and around the city did brisk business Monday, selling salt and snow shovels at a time many usually turn their thoughts toward gardening and baseball.

"Everybody's got a little comment with every bag they're buying," said Mike McIntosh, who works at Dressel's Hardware in Oak Park just outside Chicago. Workers had started to stock the shelves with tools and supplies associated with spring and summer, only to find the shovels and salt they thought they'd hold for another year were still in demand. "Everybody's a bit surprised, but it's good for us, we've got a lot of this stuff to move," he said. On Monday, the system moved across the Dakotas and Minnesota, dropping up to a foot of snow in some areas and freezing rain in others. Some schools closed and officials warned motorists to stay off the roads.