Heavy Snow Causes Severe Disruption in Europe

Heavy snow and subzero temperatures swept across Europe, killing at least eight homeless people in Poland, closing major airports in Britain and Switzerland and causing hundreds of highway accidents.

Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Workmen clear snow from Edinburgh Airport car park on December 1, 2010 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Freezing weather conditions and heavy snow have forced Scotland's main airport to close for the day.

Gatwick, London's second largest airport, and Geneva, a major hub for low-cost carrier Easyjet, were forced to shut down Wednesday as staff struggled to clear runways of snow, along with Edinburgh airport in Scotland and Lyon-Bron in southeastern France.

Eurocontrol, the central air control agency, reported severe flight delays in northern Spain, southern Germany and Austria.

In Poland, police said eight men died Tuesday night after a bitter cold front roared in, with temperatures falling to around -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit). Police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said the men, from different parts of the country, had been drinking. The eastern Polish city of Bialystok hit -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday night.

Winter weather caused some 2,000 accidents on German roads Tuesday, officials said.

Police in northern Austria said a 69-year-old retiree froze to death overnight when he slipped on a snow-covered bridge on his way home from a funeral and lost consciousness.

Officials at Gatwick, south of London, said the airport would remain closed until early Thursday, stranding about 600 flights that were expected to leave Wednesday. Extra staff were working "around the clock" to clear the runways, and passengers were advised to check with their airline or Gatwick's website for updates.

Photo: IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images Cars and lorries are driven along the snow covered M25 in Kent, in south-east England on Dec. 1, 2010. London Gatwick Airport, Europe's eighth busiest passenger air hub, was closed until at least 6:00am (0600 GMT) Thursday as staff worked on clearing the two runways.

Geneva's airport will be closed until at least 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) Wednesday, a spokesman said.

Zurich, Switzerland's biggest airport, reported delays and cancelations on the day many VIPs, including former President Bill Clinton and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, were traveling to FIFA's headquarters to push their countries' bids to host the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups.

Airport spokeswoman Sonja Zoechling said officials anticipate heavy snowfall there Wednesday afternoon but expected to keep flights going. Still, the presence of so many private jets in Zurich meant the airport had to turn down requests Wednesday for diverted landings.

Some 60 flights were canceled at Frankfurt airport, Germany's largest, since planes were not able to fly in Tuesday, but there were no weather delays on Wednesday.

Swiss weather agency Meteosuisse forecast more snow throughout the day as a low-pressure front centered over western Europe moves slowly eastward.

Photo: THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP/Getty Images A truck driver waits as trucks are parked on December 1, 2010, in Lempdes-sur-Allagnon, central France, after heavy snow. Heavy snowfall forced more than 7.000 trucks to park over night in central and eastern France as 12 regions banned their use. Restrictions were being lifted as of early morning for some highways.

"We've got unusually cold air over large parts of the eastern Atlantic, and where that meets warm air coming for example from the Mediterranean you have a lot of snow," said meteorologist Heinz Maurer.

He predicted that snowfall would ease in central Europe by Thursday, but nights will remain extremely cold.

La Brevine, in northwestern Switzerland, recorded temperatures of -31 degrees Celsius (-24 Fahrenheit) overnight, Maurer said.

Even the undersea Channel Tunnel was hit with travel delays due to the snow. Six Eurostar trains to and from London were canceled and delays on other services were expected.

In Ireland, flights from Dublin airport were temporarily suspended early Wednesday while thick snow and ice was cleared from a main runway. But with many schools closed and many minor roads impassable due to snow, authorities urged drivers to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

Grocery chain Tesco said the cold snap had seen a rise in sales of whiskey — often served warm in winter — and hot chocolate.

Photo: PHILIPPE MERLE/AFP/Getty Images A child sets a snowman in front of a ferrywheel place Bellecour, on December 1, 2010 in Lyon. Snow and freezing temperatures forced French aviation authorities to cancel 116 flights from Lyon airport today and brought 10,000 trucks to a halt, officials said.

Nine regions in northwest and southeast France were put on a weather alert, warning of snow and ice until Thursday morning. SNCF, France's national railway, said traffic on the main southeast routes had been affected by heavy snow, but 80 percent of its high-speed trains were still running.

In Poland, police were carrying out patrols to find homeless people and get them into shelters. The bad weather was also blamed for a collision between a tram and a car that killed one person in Szczecin.

Further south, some 300 people were evacuated from their homes in the northern part of Montenegro because of heavy rains. Authorities in the town of Berane said dozens of homes and roads were flooded and more evacuations were likely