Tourexpi
Heavy snow causes travel disruption in parts of Europe as further weather alerts in place
Heavy
snow and freezing weather wreaked havoc across parts of Europe, causing
commuters to face travel disruptions and killing two people in France on
Thursday.
In
the Netherlands, significant disruption is expected amid nationwide snow and
ice warnings as the Dutch national weather forecasting service issued a code
orange weather warning in Limburg and Noord-Brabant early Friday but later
downgraded it to code yellow.
Zuid-Limburg
has already received 5-8 centimeters of snow overnight, with 1-3 centimeters
expected in some areas of West-Brabant and 5-8 centimeters in Limburg and
Oost-Brabant, NL Times reported.
Officials
also urged motorists to exercise caution and adjust their travel plans as the
roads are covered in snow and ice.
Belgium
saw a mix of snow and rain on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, prompting
authorities to issue a code yellow warning for most of the country.
The
Brussels Times reported that there were no major traffic disruptions on the
ground, but flights on Thursday morning were affected by delays and
cancellations.
Temperatures
are expected to drop to -2 degrees Celsius in the country's central regions and
2 degrees Celsius along its coast.
Homeless
person dies of hypothermia in France
Meanwhile,
two people died in northern France due to snowfall as temperatures are expected
to drop to -16°C in some areas later on Thursday.
Citing
authorities, local media reported that a homeless person near Valenciennes died
of hypothermia overnight and another person died after slipping on ice in
Croix, near Lille.
Speed
limits on many roads have been temporarily lowered, and schools in northern
France have been forced to close due to heavy rain and snow.
Some
1,000 homes are left without electricity in the northern parts of France, where
up to 10 cm of snow fell overnight during the new year's first polar vortex.
Travel
disruption continues in the UK amid ongoing snowing and an ice warning as
temperatures plummet.
The
country's Met Office announced that England, Wales, and Northern Ireland all
had their coldest nights of the winter so far overnight, with temperatures
recorded as low as -11.2C.
It
came as three fresh weather warnings for ice were issued by the Met Office,
with two warnings covering most of England’s east coast, Wales, the Midlands,
northwest England, and Northern Ireland in place until 10 a.m. on Friday.
Meanwhile,
Manchester Airport’s runways were once again closed early Friday due to heavy
snowing. Later, the airport announced that the runways have been reopened but
warned of further delays.
Earlier
on Thursday, German authorities issued a warning for heavy snow in most of the
country.
Ongoing
snowfall is expected to continue across Germany, according to the German
Meteorological Service (DWD).
It
warned drivers to avoid unnecessary travel and drive carefully as roads are
covered in ice.
The
DWD also warned residents in central and southern Germany about trees falling
and flying objects.
Wind
gusts are expected to reach 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in Munich and 115
kph in forest areas.
Image
Credit: © AA
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