Snow storms cause travel chaos in northwest Europe

Countries in the northwest of Europe are facing severe disruptions to their travel plans as early snow and a bitterly cold front descended. Paris and the majority of the north of France weathered a deep snow storm that left a blanket of snow seven centimeters deep and this inevitably led to delayed flights at the ever-busy Charles de Gaulle Airport. The Eiffel Tower was even closed off to visitors as the snow took hold of the city and many parts of Paris suffered delays on the bus and rail networks as well. Temperatures during the day fell way below zero and black ice dangerously coated roads to the north of France.

The UK suffered from many traffic disruptions and heavy snow falls have now been forecasted for the southeast and northeast of England. Yesterday the Met Office issued travel warnings claiming heavy snow will take a hold of London, the East Midlands, the northeast of England and the southeast over the next few days. It is likely that areas such as Kent, Surrey, Sussex, East Anglia and London will see up to 20cm of snow and there is a chance of gale-force winds.

Last week drivers were stuck on the M20 and the M2 overnight as the weather caused traffic tailbacks and endless queues. In the north of the Netherlands the country’s snow fall was deeper than it has been for four years and all bus services were cancelled and flights were delayed. Flights departing and arriving from Brussels Airport were also affected and drivers in Germany were warned only to travel if it was absolutely necessary as 10cms of snow fell on Frankfurt and temperatures fell to minus two.