Heavy snowfall and freezing rain has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and trains, crashes on icy roads, and school closures across Germany.
At Frankfurt airport, Germany’s biggest, more than 500 flights were cancelled, while in Munich more than 250 arrivals and departures were cancelled.
In western Germany, Saarbruecken airport closed for the day, as Dusseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports were also affected by delays and cancelations.
National train operator Deutsche Bahn cancelled several long-distance connections and announced that the maximum speed of its fast ICE train would be limited to 124mph due to the extreme weather.
The freezing rain across western and southern Germany also led to countless crashes on icy roads in the early hours of Wednesday.
As a precaution, many schools and kindergartens in the country closed for the day, and some companies offered their employees the option of working from home.
The German Weather Service warned of a very high risk of icy roads due to freezing rain in a region including the city of Trier in the west and Frankfurt in the centre of the country.
In the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg, the service said there was a “great danger to life and limb due to freezing rain with heavy ice accumulation; widespread ice breakage”.
People living in the regions were asked to avoid driving and stay inside if possible.
North of Germany, the Scandinavian countries were also hit by the cold winter weather.
Heavy snowfall brought traffic to a standstill in large areas, with roads and motorways clogged with stranded motorists, public transportation delays, cancellations of some ferry lines, and the closure of some bridges.
Police in several parts of Denmark urged people to stay at home.
The airport in Oslo, Norway, said: “Due to heavy snowfall in the Oslo area, there are delays and cancellations with public transportation to and from Oslo airport.
“If you are going to travel, allow plenty of time to get to the airport and follow the information from your airline.”
