Copenhagen – A Europe This Wednesday, the 4th, there were mixed weather events with severe cold and blizzards in the Nordic countries and strong winds and rain in the west of the continent. at ScandinaviaSchools and roads were closed due to snow. at UKAt least one person died as a result of the rain.
Temperatures plunged below minus 40ºC in the Nordic region for the second day in a row. In Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka, Swedish Lapland, the thermometer registered -43.6ºC, the lowest temperature in Sweden in 25 years, Swedish news agency TT reported.
Freezing temperatures, snow and strong winds have disrupted traffic across the Nordic region, with many bridges closed and some train and ferry services suspended. Many schools in Scandinavia are closed.
Mild but wet and windy conditions prevailed further south, where a storm wreaked havoc across parts of western Europe.
In England, a driver was killed after a tree fell on his car in West England. Gloucestershire Police said the man died in the incident near Kemble on Tuesday afternoon.The storm caused power outages, traffic problems, property damage and disruption across the country.
More than 300 flood warnings were issued across England and Wales on Wednesday, while 10,000 homes were without power. A severe flood warning has been issued for the River Nene in Northampton, central England, meaning life is at risk. Several residents were evacuated from boats and caravans at nearby Billings Aquadrome.
England's rail network has been hit by flooding and power outages, with many operators reporting continued problems getting to work on Wednesday morning.
The strongest storms in England were reported on the Isle of Wight off the coast of southern England, where wind speeds reached 151 kilometers per hour.
Eindhoven police said that a 75-year-old man may have died after falling off his bicycle due to strong winds in the Netherlands on the 2nd. A small section of the water level regulating channel was washed away on Wednesday afternoon, the water authority said.
Water flowed into the already full Maas River near the city of Maastricht. Many boat owners were evacuated as a precaution.
In France, rain began to fall in the northern regions of Pas-de-Calais and Nord on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of around 200 people and cutting power to 10,000 households, local officials said.
Roads in the town of Blendecques have become waterlogged, and officials warned residents of areas under flood warnings on Wednesday to limit their movements until water levels recede.
Hundreds of emergency teams from across France mobilized to rescue people from flooded homes and clear roads, and reinforcements of personnel and equipment arrived from the already submerged Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Netherlands. Powerful pumps have been brought in to divert 60,000 cubic meters of water from the worst-hit towns to lower water levels around the English Channel and Aa river delta, the regional province said in a statement.
The National Weather Service maintained flood and wind warnings for much of northern France and its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany on Thursday for heavy rain and winds of up to 100 km/h.
Parts of Germany are also facing flooding, which could be worsened by heavy rain in the worst-hit northwestern state of Lower Saxony.
“Reader. Infuriatingly humble travel enthusiast. Extreme food scholar. Writer. Communicator.”