The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

triggermortis · 04-02-2012 7:46am

Only minus 13 as I was leaving work at 6am in Zurich...

Irish Steve · 04-02-2012 1:00pm

baraca wrote: »

Making me thankful tbh, I love cold and snow. But -29? No thanks.

That temp is easier to cope with than -5, IF the humidity is right, which means low. I've been in those sorts of temperatures in the States, High Rockies, and it's more comfortable at -20 than it is here at -2, the only other difference being the humidity, in Colorado, it's usually a lot lower in the winter months, which somehow makes the cold easier to cope with.

Not sure what it's like in Europe at the moment in humidity terms, I suspect relatively low, due to how cold the air is when it leaves Siberia.

Sponge Bob · 04-02-2012 4:22pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16883560

Freezing Europe hit by Russian gas shortage

"I can confirm that there has been a decrease in gas deliveries in various member states - Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy," EU spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said.

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-483647.html

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom on Thursday denied cutting supplies to cold-stricken Europe, pointing the finger at transit nation Ukraine, which in turn said it was taking only as much fuel as agreed in its contract with Moscow, according to Reuters.

Gazprom`s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said he was bewildered by reports of Russian gas supply cuts to Europe, adding the company had been cranking up exports.

Earlier this week, the European Commission said gas supplies into Italy via the Austrian border had been reduced by 10 percent from normal levels.

"Our company has increased gas supplies to European countries ... to the maximum in the middle of a harsh winter in Russia and Europe," Medvedev, who heads Gazprom`s exporting arm, said in a statement.

He added Gazprom had been pumping gas to Europe at an equivalent annual pace of 180 billion cubic metres (bcm) compared to the 150 bcm it shipped last year.

Medvedev also said Ukraine, which tranships most of Gazprom`s gas bound for Europe and buys the fuel for its own needs, was taking Russian gas at a pace which was above contracted levels.

No sign of a letup either.

patneve2 · 04-02-2012 4:33pm

Heavy snow showers in Rome last night! Heaviest snow since 1986...

ZX7R · 04-02-2012 4:43pm

Sponge Bob wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16883560

Freezing Europe hit by Russian gas shortage

http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-483647.html

No sign of a letup either.

My wife is from poland from medyka near the border with ukraine,her father use's coal to heat there home,i was talking to him on skype this morning ,tempatures droped below -30 last night and now day time tempature is -18 ,he has taken family and friends in to his home because of the gas shortage,pople most affected by the gas shortage live in the citys as nearly all all apartment blocks are heated by gas.

MizDorry · 04-02-2012 5:09pm

Can not believe I moved to the South of France and it's snowing! Not sticking on the ground yet. We are right on the coast in Antibes on the Riviera. Hilarious!

Sponge Bob · 04-02-2012 5:13pm

ZX7R wrote: »

,tempatures droped below -30 last night and now day time tempature is -18 ,he has taken family and friends in to his home because of the gas shortage,pople most affected by the gas shortage live in the citys as nearly all all apartment blocks are heated by gas.

That is lethally low, most especially if the Gas is not available or not getting injected in sufficient amounts into the Russian network to start with.

Poland is almost at the end of the Gaspipe now the Germans are getting much it straight from Russia across Nordstream instead of it transiting Poland as before.

Cantona's Collars · 04-02-2012 5:16pm

Watching the Stoke v Sunderland game,it's been snowing all game.

Iancar29 · 04-02-2012 6:21pm

As soon as the sun sets... the sleet turns to snow!

* shakes fist towards UK!!! :mad: *

H2UMrsRobinson · 04-02-2012 7:44pm

Just been chatting to mother who lives in Herne Bay (SE, Kent). -3 and a chuff load of precipitation heading her way. It's quite unfair as she doesn't want it and I do, all we have is the rain. Still I'm glad someone's getting snow. We can't have everything our way.

kstand · 04-02-2012 8:27pm

Very fine snow started falling here in N16 North London in the last half hour. Its coming in real flurries at times. The ground is frozen solid all the way to Bristol (left there at 1pm today by train). Forecasted to be down for the night, easing up after dawn. London will be at a standstill into Monday. Have lived here 12 years and for years there was nothing - then the last 3 winters we have had significant snow events.

schween · 04-02-2012 10:57pm

Here are some photos of the cold in Spain from El País newspaper:

http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2012/02/02/album/1328192941_475327.html#1328192941_475327_1328256170

Amazing to see a Mallorca beach and Palma covered in snow.
It reached -14°C near me last night. No snow thankfully!

K_1 · 04-02-2012 11:00pm

RTÉ has the following to say: (although it's probably just been copied and pasted straight from Reuters!)

A vicious cold snap that has claimed over 260 lives across Europe is continuing, with Ukraine the worst hit.

Hundreds of people were rescued today after a ferry caught in a snow storm hit a breakwater off Italy, as a vicious cold snap that has claimed over 260 lives across Europe tightened its grip.
Ukraine has suffered the heaviest toll with 122 deaths, including many who froze to death in the streets, as temperatures plunged to as low as minus 38.1 degrees Celsius.
Airports were shut, flights and trains delayed, and highways gridlocked as emergency services raced to clear falling snow.
In Italy, the ferry Sharden hit a breakwater shortly after setting off from the port of Civitavecchia near Rome, causing panic among the 262 passengers who feared a repeat of a cruise ship tragedy in the area last month that killed 32.
Coastguard spokesman Carnine Albano said the accident, which tore a 25m hole in the ship's side above the waterline, happened after the vessel was buffeted by a violent snow storm from the northeast.
All passengers were evacuated and no injuries reported.
The heaviest snowfall in 27 years in Rome caused the capital better known for its warm sunshine to grind to a halt, with taxis and buses unable to navigate through the icy streets without snow chains.
Parts of the Venice lagoon also froze over.
A 46-year-old woman died in Avellino, near Naples in southern Italy, after a greenhouse roof laden with snow collapsed on her and the ambulance failed to get through the blocked roads to her in time.
A homeless man in his sixties of German origin was found dead, apparently of cold, in the central town of Castiglione del Lago.
In further bad news, Russian gas giant Gazprom said it could not satisfy western Europe's demand for more energy.
"Gazprom at the moment cannot satisfy the additional volumes that our Western European partners are requesting," the company's deputy chairman Alexander Kruglov said at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to Russian news agencies.
Frigid temperatures even edged into north Africa, with the temperature forecast to drop to minus 5C in Algiers tonight.
In Algeria's eastern region, a 17-year-old man was assumed killed after he was swept away by a swollen river. Many domestic and international flights were cancelled.
In Poland, the death toll rose to 45 as temperatures reached minus 27C in the north-east. In Romania, four more victims were found, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to 28.
The cold snap has also killed people in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, France, Austria and Greece.

J6P · 05-02-2012 12:45am

http://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing

deecom · 05-02-2012 12:45am

-14c here at the moment. Heavy snow today, but seems we have been lucky compared to others south from here. Rest of the week to get colder, plus more snow. No problems with gas that i am aware of.

Poochie05 · 05-02-2012 12:30pm

A friend of mine confirmed it was snowing in Sardinia last night.

Deep Easterly · 05-02-2012 1:31pm

Poochie05 wrote: »

A friend of mine confirmed it was snowing in Sardinia last night.

Seen on the BBC News this morning that there was snow in the Algeirs as well yesterday. Unusual site to see snow lying on tropical palms.

Su Campu · 05-02-2012 1:40pm

Poochie05 wrote: »

A friend of mine confirmed it was snowing in Sardinia last night.

Yes, my Mamma in law said it was snowing near her area (which is near a place called Su Campu!), and snow was also reported at Capo Caccia, on a headland to the west of Alghero, yesterday morning. The mountains are impassable.

5cm of lying snow reported in the Bastia synops in Corsica (8 m).

leincar · 05-02-2012 10:23pm

I'm off to Poland and The Ukraine tomorrow for two weeks of looking around the Euro 2012 football venues. Despite the packed Long Johns and the Ushanka I presume the forecast is for these countries to remain in the deep freeze.

I think the novelty will have worn off by Wednesday.

ZX7R · 05-02-2012 10:34pm

leincar wrote: »

I'm off to Poland and The Ukraine tomorrow for two weeks of looking around the Euro 2012 football venues. Despite the packed Long Johns and the Ushanka I presume the forecast is for these countries to remain in the deep freeze.

I think the novelty will have worn off by Wednesday.

yes the weather is to stay prity much the same for the next two weeks,parts of poland and ukraine had more snow today;)

deecom · 06-02-2012 5:08am

Well this morning it has turned to a chilly -19. Most transport services are running, some roads closed on higher ground. More snow due in the next few hours.

Elmer Blooker · 06-02-2012 4:13pm

The Dutch are praying that the contintental cold spell continues so the famous "Eleven Cities" race can take place this year, the first since 1997. Compare their attitude to cold weather with the whinging that goes on in this country.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUwtrVvIDdIuPC1_XSLsp6ViLa-g?docId=bee7f843bd

up for anything · 06-02-2012 8:01pm

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

The Dutch are praying that the contintental cold spell continues so the famous "Eleven Cities" race can take place this year, the first since 1997. Compare their attitude to cold weather with the whinging that goes on in this country.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUwtrVvIDdIuPC1_XSLsp6ViLa-g?docId=bee7f843bd

That reminds me of this book, [URL="Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland"]Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland[/URL]. I loved that book so much when I was a child.

Birdnuts · 06-02-2012 8:10pm

Some increadible footage on Al Jazeera of snow depths in parts of the Balkans. In one area there is so much lying snow that only the very tips of trees in a large forest can be seen:eek::cool:

Conor30 · 06-02-2012 10:15pm

leincar wrote: »

I'm off to Poland and The Ukraine tomorrow for two weeks of looking around the Euro 2012 football venues. Despite the packed Long Johns and the Ushanka I presume the forecast is for these countries to remain in the deep freeze.

I think the novelty will have worn off by Wednesday.

Wow, it's well for some, isn't it! Unfortunately I can't take time off work!

Elmer Blooker · 07-02-2012 1:04am

up for anything wrote: »

That reminds me of this book, [URL="Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland"]Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland[/URL]. I loved that book so much when I was a child.

This shows the years that the race took place since it started in 1909. The ice has to be 15cm thick. It has only taken place on 15 occasions which is once every 7 years on average. Its interesting to note the winters of 1940/1/2- three in a row and the 22 year gap from 1963 to 1985. I can't understand why there was no race during the winter of 1978/9?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht#Winners

Birdnuts · 07-02-2012 1:34am

The latest 96 and 120hr Met O fax charts make worrying viewing for those in Italy and the Balkans. Basically another 5 days at least of heavy snow and low temps on top of all the stuff they have already - and is that a 492 thinkness line hanging around the Black sea??:eek:

up for anything · 07-02-2012 8:22am

Birdnuts wrote: »

Some increadible footage on Al Jazeera of snow depths in parts of the Balkans. In one area there is so much lying snow that only the very tips of trees in a large forest can be seen:eek::cool:

Have you a handy link or was it just on the regular news? I'd love to see some photos or footage.

leincar · 07-02-2012 12:31pm

Conor30 wrote: »

Wow, it's well for some, isn't it! Unfortunately I can't take time off work!

Its all work I'm afraid. In Gdansk at present. -10c and snow expected later on. Wonderful scenes of a frozen Baltic sea.

davehey79 · 07-02-2012 1:27pm

The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

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