Heavy snow causes disruption across northwestern Europe

Thursday, March 14, 2013 

Wintry conditions are causing widespread disruption across parts of northwestern Europe over the past two days. Heavy snow as well as sub-zero temperatures have resulted in cancellations of hundreds of flights and caused traffic disruptions on major roads.

Many hundreds of passengers became stranded at Frankfurt Airport in Germany on Tuesday night as the airport closed, with many more flights cancelled yesterday. Tuesday in Paris, at the Charles de Gaulle Airport a quarter of the flights were cancelled. At Orly Airport a landing Tunisair slid, prompting evacuation of 140 passengers.

The Eurostar train service which connects London, United Kingdom with Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium was suspended after heavy snow. Many drivers stayed in their cars overnight in south Britain.

Maria Fanucchi from the Montmartre area of Paris said, "It was a winter wonderland for a day (yesterday [Tuesday]), but now it's melting very fast. The streets are full of a dirty, slushy mix of black snow and water [...] [my] trip to The Hague was canceled because the bus company didn't want to risk getting stuck in the snow."

Randy Tahtouh of Berlin said, "it snowed more then usual this year, well the public transport were not functioning properly and some roads were jammed", and "in Friedrichsfelde, there was about 4 inches of snow."

Helena Kristiansson from Brussels said she was stuck on a road for nine hours in 65 kilometers of queues; she tweeted, "Stuck at a road for Brussels closed since 5pm yesterday due to shoulder deep snow.. Really France? Really? #FML #fb".

Belgium had over 1,600 kilometers of traffic jams during the Tuesday morning rush hour, reported the Touring breakdown assistance association, as lying snow on roads made driving difficult. The Belgian Pensions Minister Alexander De Croo struggled to attend the cabinet budget meeting as the snow hit. He said, "The budget won't be simple, but just getting into Brussels to get started is a task of a different order altogether".

Guernsey Airport, one of the major airports in the Channel Islands, opened on time this morning after heavy snow and ice caused the airport to close for a time yesterday.

Snow covering a landscape across a park in Paris.
Image: Bellanda.

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A view of the Tuileries Garden in Paris covered under snow.
Image: MOYNAT.

A thick covering of snow in Tongeren, Belgium.
Image: Johan Neven.

An aerial perspective of the snow that has fallen in Paris.
Image: Ryan O'Connor.

A sculpture in the St Emilion Park surrounded by a frozen pond.
Image: Bellanda.

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A photo showing icicles looking across at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Image: Olivier Milcent.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)

A photo of the thick snow covering in Berlin, Germany.
Image: Randy Tahtouh.

Many inches of snow accumulated in Paris leaving a covering on this balcony.
Image: Vincent Perrin.

A slippery pavement in Paris.
Image: Carla Fournier.

Snow at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
Image: Charles Stross.

A photo of a snowy road in the German capital of Berlin.
Image: Emma Kiiski.

A road in Berlin with lying snow.
Image: TRANSIT RECORDS.

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A car is covered under several inches of snow in a car park in Brussels.
Image: Gregg Svingen.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)

Snow fell too, in the northern French city of Rouen as a residential road has become blanketed under snow.
Image: Pierre Moulis.

A photograph of swans in a lake in Rouen.
Image: Tatyana Ilyin.

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A picturesque scene of a road in Rouen.
Image: CherryRedCheeks.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)

A covering of snow in Rouen.
Image: ArmenianDancer.

A hotel restaraunt in Paris under the snow.
Image: Hotel California Paris Champs-Elysées.

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The Eiffel Tower in the French capital of Paris under the snow.
Image: Mehdi.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)

File:Snow in Europe 6.jpg

A photo of a snowman outside the Eiffel Tower.
Image: Dounia L.
(Image missing from Commons: image; log)

Sources

• "Europe faces more travel chaos as snow turns into ice" — BBC News Online, March 13, 2013
• Robert-Jan Bartunek and Leigh Thomas. "Snow disrupts transport across northwestern Europe" — Reuters, March 12, 2013
• Reuters. "Snow causes transport chaos in NW Europe" — Financial Times, March 12, 2013
• Frances Robinson. "Belgium Begins Budget Talks" — The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2013