As I look out on the lake of Geneva, I can barely see France across - but I can make out my palm trees under inches of snow. Surreality has enveloped Rivendell and Helm`s Deep... and from what I hear it looks the same all over Europe, from the high North down to Italy, and from England to Transylvania... snow and ice.
Here BBC online photo show of how Europe looks like now:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4561158.stm
Temperatures are going to drop further across Europe...
Freezing conditions across parts of northern Europe caused travel chaos today as forecasters warned that more snow and colder temperatures were expected over the next two days.
British motoring organisations urged people only to make essential journeys, while hundreds of drivers in France spent the night in their cars after 30cm of snow fell in parts the country.
In Austria, a blizzard resulted in power cuts to homes and was blamed for numerous road accidents across eastern parts of the country. Temperatures were likely to drop further tonight.
"Temperatures tonight could fall as low as -10C where snow lies on the ground, and they could be down to -7C in other places," PA WeatherCentre spokesman Paul Knightley said.
In France, hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight after heavy snowfall blocked roads, forcing some to abandon their cars and others to sleep in their vehicles. Scores of travellers spent the night in community centres and hotels near Nancy, where road crews worked to clear up to 30cm of snow, according to the Regional Road Information and Coordination Centre in nearby Metz.
Several cars were abandoned on the A31 highway, which remained heavily congested heading north toward Luxembourg. Officials ordered trucks to remain parked in rest areas until normal traffic flow was restored, and advised drivers not to travel.
Hundreds of people were stranded overnight in the Calvados region in western Normandy, where the A84 highway was closed in both directions. "There were 600 vehicles blocked, which amounts to around 600 or 800 people [stranded]," road security official Remi Fromont told the French television channel LCI.
In Austria, at least 15cm of snow fell in eastern areas, creating treacherous conditions blamed for numerous road accidents. Authorities said at least 11 trucks had jack-knifed in the province of Lower Austria, causing long tailbacks, and at least 300 homes were without power.
Four trucks collided on the motorway linking the Czech capital, Prague, with the southern city of Brno, blocking traffic, while officials in Slovakia warned of a heightened avalanche risk in some areas.
Heavy snow and icy rain in Croatia forced officials to close local roads, effectively cutting off access to dozens of central villages. Snow also created traffic and rail havoc in Hungary, where nearly 120 trains were running behind schedule.
Most of northern Italy was under a blanket of snow, causing traffic disruption, and a motorway from Parma to La Spezia was closed as a precaution.
More text at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weather/Story/0,2763,1674492,00.html
More snow white fairy tale pictures at:
http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,392565,00.html
Peace
M StC.
This picture - from Berlin - reminds me of Magritte,
as all of its composition has a touch of the "surreal" -
please forgive my white sense of humour ;-)
