Posted on 12/30/2005 2:12:13 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WARSAW (AFP) - Europeans braced for a shivery New Year celebration as temperatures plunged to new lows, while a cold snap claimed the lives of new victims and snow, ice and floods snarled traffic.
Poland reported 22 deaths from hypothermia in recent days, bringing the total to 85 since the onset of winter in October.
"Nearly half the victims were homeless people, more and more of whom die of the cold every year in Poland," police spokeswoman Graznya Puchalska told AFP on Friday, adding that most were men between the ages of 35 and 50 and under the influence of alcohol.
Heavy snowfall disrupted traffic in the south of the country where even the main roads could not be plowed, as more snow was forecast through Saturday morning.
In Britain, which has reported the coldest December in a decade, a man in his 40s was found frozen to death on the steps of the town hall in West Bromwich, central England.
Freezing temperatures claimed their second victim in Italy when a 22-year-old homeless man froze to death on a platform of Rome's main train station, while the Tuscan city of Florence woke up for the first time in 21 years under a blanket of snow.
Authorities declared a state of emergency in Campania, the region surrounding Naples, due to heavy snow and rain fall, while rail travel to and from the capital and flights at Rome's Ciampino airport faced major delays and seven scheduled flights from Florence were cancelled.
In Croatia, a 91-year-old woman was found dead of hypothermia in front of her home, near the southern town of Sadar where temperatures dippped to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).
The capital Zagreb shoveled out from under 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow while more than two meters (seven feet) fell in the mountains.
Switzerland logged its coldest winter temperature so far this season as the mercury dropped to minus 35 degrees Celsius, the national weather agency MeteoSuisse said.
The seasonal record temperature was recorded overnight in the western community of La Brevine, which is nicknamed "Switzerland's Siberia" for its icy winter climate.
Turkey saw temperature extremes, with minus 34 degrees Celsius reported overnight in the city of Agri and nearly 500 villages cut off by snow, while the western city of Manisa on the Aegean recorded a spring-like 18 degrees Celsius.
Dutch authorities warned New Year's revelers of "extreme winter temperatures" forecast for Saturday night, while in Austria, temperatures were expected to fall to minus 15 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
In Spain, slick conditions forced the closure of four mountain passes in the northern areas of Cantabria and Navarra, while tire chains were recommended for other routes.
Belgian authorities issued a "code red" warning to drivers due to potentially hazardous road conditions from freezing rain. New snow was forecast Friday for the eastern city of Liege and the Ardennes region.
In the Czech Republic, several roads were closed due to snow and ice, including the route linking the country's third city of Ostrava, population 315,000, with Opava, a city of 60,000.
Air traffic at Prague's Ruzyne airport returned to normal, however, after being closed for a half-day Thursday.
Snow led to the derailment of a streetcar in Budapest, blocking several other rail lines in the capital while a number of city buses were waylaid.
In France, most of the country was battered by snow and freezing rain. Heavy trucks were banned from main routes in the west of the country while motorists in Paris were asked to avoid the roads. The cold has led to the deaths of two people in recent days.
Gale-force winds whipped Greece, forcing the closure of the main port of Piraeus and the Athens port of Rafina, which serves several Aegean islands.
The weather in Portugal was comparatively balmy, with temperatures up to 18 degrees Celsius expected along with bouts of rain in the north and center of the country.
Romania, which saw unexpectedly mild temperatures, issued a flood warning for the south of the country where heavy rains were forecast over the weekend.
People walk in the snow near the Pyramide of the Louvre in Paris. Europeans braced for a shivery New Year celebration as temperatures plunged to new lows, while a cold snap claimed the lives of new victims and snow, ice and floods snarled traffic.(AFP/Bertrand Guay)
GLOBAL COOLING!!!
I don't know how he did it, but this is certainly Bush's fault.
We must dismantle the American economy. It's the only solution.
Snow on the Acropolis a few years back. Snow on the Temple Mount, too. Doesn't last and the orange trees are not damaged.
Yup. Now if only we could go back to the good old days of communism when we didn't have these problems......
Global Warming? Bring it on!!
I vote that all liberals not be allowed to heat their houses with heating oil or natural gas. If they want to stay warm, then can rub their hands together as they wax eloquent about global warming.
We've had 3 people killed in wild fires, all in a town near Abeline (a couple counties West of Ft. Worth) which had over 100 houses burn down. One more killed in Oklahoma wild fires.
Forecast for New Years day in central Texas is 82 degrees.
Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get. Sheesh!
Just caught a weather person saying the weather pattern we are seeing down there is much like what happened in the 30s... shades of the Dust Bowl era.
Stay safe.
Is Algore over there giving a speach?
Great line! Sorry 'bout the deaths in Texas, tho. In the article, the only temperature I saw listed was 14 deg. F. That's not unusual at all around here (Northern Illinois) during Winter. Yet we don't have anywhere near the level of deaths that this story seems to report. Gee, do ya maybe all that compassionate socialism over there isn't so compassionate after all?
Hey, that cold-assed air was parked here in Pennsylvania for three weeks. In addition to the pleasure of watching the frogs shiver, cold air there means warmer air here, which saves me a good thirty bucks a week on heating oil.
I sense the evil hand of Carl Rove, pushing the refrigerate button on his payback machine. Everybody knows its true.
During the winter investment of Moscow some German troops were dying from lowering their trousers to relieve themselves in the snow. There were wind chills of -60C and the Winter was Stalin's extra army group.
Just send our lefty leaders and pundits over there to speak against conservatives and Bush and Iraq and Christians. They'll be sweating in a few days.
but, but, what about global warming?
As a kid, I remember endless pictures of the Dutch skating on frozen rivers. Now they get a snow storm, and the world is coming to an end.
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