The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

darkman2 · 01-02-2012 6:17pm #1

Hi all,

We have spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out whether we would be in on the party. We will be on the edge like the UK with icy frosty nights but the Continent is an entirely different matter. Some serious stuff coming from the Northwest of France, to Portugal, to the Med and pretty much all of Central Europe and Northwest parts of Africa.

Post pictures, news reports and updates on these dramatic few days for the Continent.

Here is some pictures from Bologna in Italy

And icicles in Eastern Europe

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6625/dsc2376x1000.jpg

Victor Meldrew · 01-02-2012 6:25pm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/01/extreme-cold-weather-eastern-europe?newsfeed=true

Not always a bad thing, missing a party....

79 Dead and helicopter evacuations.....

darkman2 · 01-02-2012 6:31pm

I have a feeling there will be many more by the time this is out sadly. It's exceptionally cold siberian airmass getting into areas that even though they are well prepared for Winter normally it's much too severe. The problems really arise when it reaches Spain and Southwest France. Be interesting to see how they handle it. I think the authorities will struggle just as badly if not worse then we did in 2010.

hotwhiskey · 01-02-2012 6:40pm

Winter Freeze Kills Dozens In Eastern Europe -49

Parts of eastern Europe have been subjected to freezing temperatures - killing dozens of people.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/winter-freeze-kills-dozens-eastern-europe-032113141.html

burren · 01-02-2012 7:22pm

The cold weather also has its fun side.

Skating is a big deal in the Netherlands and skating on natural ice is the real thing. This video, which was recorded this morning, shows two dutch daredevils trying out the ice. There were only about three nights with serious frost and the ice is probably not much thicker than 6cm. Skating clubs are already speculating on enough ice growth the coming days for organising races and tours this weekend. And of course, as always when winter pushes in, people are discussing the possibility of an elfstedentocht

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXycRsuGiI

patneve2 · 01-02-2012 7:23pm

Italy's NE and E coast to get hammered by lake effect snow in the next few days

aboyro · 01-02-2012 7:40pm

burren wrote: »

The cold weather also has its fun side.

Skating is a big deal in the Netherlands and skating on natural ice is the real thing. This video, which was recorded this morning, shows two dutch daredevils trying out the ice. There were only about three nights with serious frost and the ice is probably not much thicker than 6cm. Skating clubs are already speculating on enough ice growth the coming days for organising races and tours this weekend. And of course, as always when winter pushes in, people are discussing the possibility of an elfstedentocht

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXycRsuGiI

love it:D

Su Campu · 01-02-2012 11:54pm

Just spoke to my mother who is her appartment in the south coast of Spain. She's sitting there with an electric heater, wearing two jackets and still shivering away. She wasn't happy when I told her it will get colder there over the next few days! :rolleyes:

pistolpetes11 · 02-02-2012 12:02am

What type of temps might they be expecting out that part of the world ?

Su Campu · 02-02-2012 12:08am

Central Spain should see as low as -12 °C at night, while the south coast could see as low as 0 °C. Single figures during the day. Not great when an appartment doesn't have central heating!

Sponge Bob · 02-02-2012 1:01am

In places like France and Spain where they are ill equipped to handle these extremes the excess mortality could be sobering.

The excess heat in 2003 killed 15,000 people in France alone and 40,000 across Europe ...in a month.

This cold could last just as long in Eastern Europe. It shows no sign of abating east of the Elbe whatever about a bit of an Atlantic to the west.

Extremes are nasty. That is why I don't like any sort of extreme, especially when it lasts more than a day or three.

Mountainsandh · 02-02-2012 1:15am

I think one of the reasons for such a high mortality in France is the loss of community life/involvement. In the big cities, and even in a lot of rural area, people do not look out for each other as they do here most of the time. And so, a lot of elderly people fell victim to the heat, reluctant, or unable/unwilling to ask for help. Unfortunately that might very well happen with the cold too.
Also, the French are very much suffering the effects of the recession as well as us, and heating costs are an issue for a lot of families. My brother in law has been to-ing and fro-ing this winter with 40l barrels to buy some oil for the coldest stretches. When it's not too bad cold-wise, his family make do with the fire downstairs, and electric heaters upstairs.
I hope they're ok, they are in that band that is due to get -21 Friday night.

up for anything · 02-02-2012 2:45am

Another warm day in Oymyakon. It seems mild there compared to other places in Russia. I would have thought it would have been doubly cold there.

Oymyakon

M.T. Cranium · 02-02-2012 12:20pm

http://www.meteociel.fr/

According to reports on this site, 7 cms of snow at the mouth of the Rhone in south of France, zero deg C. And many other remarkable obs and details, try clicking on the elements (left of the map) after looking at the overview.

Some place in Germany called Kahler Astlen is -16 with a -29 wind chill.

Radar is good on this site, covers most of France, Germany and the Benelux or whatever I'm supposed to call them now.

I was looking at obs in Poland and Ukraine back around 0800h and many stations in the mid -20s with some wind chill.

The high over northwest Russia continues to display a very high central pressure, it has been at least 1068 mbs if not higher.

The Siberian high has split since last week, and the eastern Siberia part is gone for the time being, that part drifted into Alaska where it is also bitterly cold this week.

Snow also falling in many parts of Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey ... into northern Syria even. A sort of early spring severe storm set-up over Iraq must be a once-a-year event there, could snow in parts of Iran ahead of that. This is a monster cold outbreak, almost too big and trying to go off in all directions, so Ireland not getting much more than a sideswipe from it. London region might be a different story however.

MizDorry · 02-02-2012 12:45pm

darkman2 wrote: »

It's exceptionally cold siberian airmass getting into areas that even though they are well prepared for Winter normally it's much too severe. The problems really arise when it reaches Spain and Southwest France. Be interesting to see how they handle it. I think the authorities will struggle just as badly if not worse then we did in 2010.

Well, sitting here in Antibes on the Cote D'Azur it's fascinating. We had some snow on Tuesday - a couple of centimetres on higher ground and temperatures here directly on the sea are about 3-4 degrees at the moment. It is forecast at the moment to be -6 on Saturday.

On Tuesday, school buses were cancelled in the afternoon. At the moment, the post has an apology that due to snow deliveries are delayed. Lorries above a certain tonnage are banned from the motorway. By the same token, the pathways into and out of the car park in the port and other sheltered areas have been salted.

The more worrying thing than the actual cold is that the electricity supply is in danger of being cut off. i.e. it's heading into overload as there is only so much available for the region. erk...

If we get any snow, will post photos.

Mountainsandh · 02-02-2012 1:31pm

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

http://www.meteociel.fr/

According to reports on this site, 7 cms of snow at the mouth of the Rhone in south of France, zero deg C.

Hi MT, I was born and lived most of my childhood in Lyon, although I am now living in Ireland.
While growing up we knew in the winter time, even as kids, that if the "Russian air" was predicted, we'd get snow/cold. We were always told "Lyon gets all the air from Central Europe/further East, and it follows the Rhone down in winter time to the sea." Kind of like the Mistral, but cold ?
My family now live in the Montelimar area, that's still on the Rhone course, in that corridor.
Another wind that heads down from the North to the South West, from what I read, is the Tramontane.

Nice video on the South's experience of snow here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-YnYko1yMw

milanomosher · 02-02-2012 2:42pm

Not much happening here in central Spain at the moment, a bit chilly (-4 degrees this morning) although the strong wind makes it feel colder, some light snow, but nothing out of the ordinary for the time of year. Forecast is for -9 minimum temp for tomorrow, again nothing unusual, and very little precipitation, if any. A pity cos we're well overdue a decent snowey period. Let's see how it unfolds.

Tom Cruises Left Nut · 02-02-2012 3:40pm

Euronews has some great pics of this

Making me mad :mad:

Gonzo · 02-02-2012 3:46pm

Is there likely to be any snowfall for the very south of Spain?Is there any snowfall forcasted for Malaga city and the tourist resorts of Fuengirola, Marbella etc? Im not sure those areas have ever seen snowfall right down the coast at any stage over past 30 years? Many people who live there do not have any form of central heating, ive spent most of my summers there and the best they normally get is the sight of distant snow high up in the mountains during January and February.

milanomosher · 02-02-2012 4:02pm

No Gonzo, they're not likely to get snowfall on the far south coast, although minimum temps are quite low:

http://www.aemet.es/en/eltiempo/prediccion/municipios/malaga-id29067

So far Cataluña seems likely to take the brunt of the cold.

M.T. Cranium · 03-02-2012 4:38am

-29 C at Bialystok, Poland (0500h local) -- clear and calm.

Pa ElGrande · 03-02-2012 6:43am

Even the Black Sea is freezing

http://englishrussia.com/2012/02/02/the-black-sea-got-frozen/

pistolpetes11 · 03-02-2012 3:07pm

101 People have perished in UKraine , 160 in Europe

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0203/weather.html

eskimocat · 03-02-2012 4:15pm

Those poor people. So sad to hear about some much loss of life from cold... in this day and age, its really upsetting

I know extreme weather will have its casualities but it really makes me wonder if more can be done to prevent this level of death?

TheMilkyPirate · 03-02-2012 4:58pm

t|nt|n wrote: »

Euronews has some great pics of this

Making me mad :mad:

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

Calibos · 03-02-2012 5:15pm

t|nt|n wrote: »

Euronews has some great pics of this

Making me mad :mad:

The Potential was there.........

........just not the geopotential

geetar · 03-02-2012 7:36pm

baraca wrote: »

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

same. i dont think anyone would like what europe is experiencing at the moment.... except for the snow of course...

drdeadlift · 03-02-2012 8:47pm

Im in Stavanger right now.It snowed all night last night.Its great to wake up to over 1ft of snow in the morning no matter where you are.

nilhg · 04-02-2012 2:18am

Well folks, my daughter has just been taken off her much delayed Ryanar flght home from Rome, Ciampino airport has just been shut because of snowfall. They were originally delayed because their plane was late arriving from Genoa again because of snow.

Harps · 04-02-2012 5:41am

-37C in Kuusamo, Finland right now, just 3C off its all time record low if wikipedia is correct

snaps · 04-02-2012 7:20am

-11c in some parts of the UK (Midlands & south) currently. Strange comparison to Scotland where some stations reporting 10c (Same as here currently)!!

Harps, I would say Kuusamo must be south Finland is it? As -37c for there seems a bit high for a record low temp in Finland??

Some cracking temps in Sweden/Finland at the moment, -41c in Lungby currently, then on west coast of Norway its well above freezing at a balmy 3c!!

My In Laws area in South Poland, currently -26.9c, Poor buggers, live fairly well isolated but for them its no big deal, only risk is the water going, but they have Storage tanks in the middle of the house for emergency water supply, wood fired central heating.

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;)

The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

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