Fresh heavy snowfalls and icy blizzards were expected to lash the Continent of Europe on Thursday as the region shivers in a deadly deep-freeze that has gripped countries from the far north to the Mediterranean south.
Schools are shut and weather agencies predict the brutal cold will continue as the death toll from the freezing snap grew to around 48 since last Friday, with icy conditions causing accidents and endangering vulnerable rough sleepers.
The Siberian cold front named the “Beast from the East” in Britain, “Siberian bear” by the Dutch and the “snow cannon” by Swedes has blanketed huge swaths of the region in snow and played havoc with transport networks.
Further blasts of wintery weather are forecast, with authorities in Ireland and normally-balmy southern France among those to have issued red alerts late Wednesday.
Schools were closed across Kosovo, western Bosnia and much of Albania, as well as in parts of Britain, Italy and Portugal.
Temperatures again dropped below -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) overnight in numerous parts of Europe even hitting -36C in Glattalp, 1,850 meters (6,000 feet) above sea level in the Swiss mountains.
Ahead of a predicted thaw towards the conclusion of the week, both Belgium and Switzerland marked their coldest nights of the winter so far.
And in the south of France, motorists were stranded on icy roads as further flurries fell overnight.
British forecasters predict the harsh weather will continue to grip the country into the weekend.
In Ireland, anxious residents were hoarding bread and milk as they prapared for Thursday’s arrival of a storm expected to bring the heaviest snowfall in decades.
Source: france24
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