Article from: Agence France-Presse
PLUNGING temperatures sent shivers across Europe today, leading to the deaths of several people and a record number of calls to power companies in Britain because of heating problems.
As the Paris area dug out from a rare snowfall, the Eiffel Tower remained closed for a second morning, finally opening later in the day after hot air was used to clean off the powder from observation levels.Air traffic also limped back to normal at the main international Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital."It did not snow last night. The runways are clear and have been de-iced. Traffic is returning to normal," said a Roissy official.Heavy snow on Monday had forced Air France to cancel 150 out of 400 scheduled flights from Roissy, with some 3000 passengers put up at hotels nearby and another 2000 forced to spend a chilly night in the airport terminal.Scheduled flights were able to take off and land normally, but many faced delays with up to 1500 passengers still trying to fly out, airport services and Air France reported.Traffic at Paris' second airport Orly was operating normally.Road traffic likewise returned to normal in northern France, despite the ice and snow that accumulated up to five centimetres in some places.Still, bad weather forced school cancellations in some regions and the national weather service predicted frigid temperatures would linger until tomorrow.In Poland, where overnight temperatures have plunged to minus 25 Celsius recently, 10 people froze to death over the past few days, authorities reported.German police also said that a 77-year-old mentally ill woman had apparently frozen to death near the town of Weimar after being reported missing from her retirement home.And the bitter chill killed two men and sent others to hospital in Romania on Sunday, where temperatures fell as low as minus 31 Celsius in the centre.The cold also indirectly caused the death of a 30-year-old woman in Linconshire in northeast England, after her car was hit by a train after stalling at a rail crossing.Meanwhile, heating problems shuttered many British schools, while repair services received a record number of cold-related calls.Further south, snow blanketed northern Italy, forcing Milan's airport to cancel or delay some flights.
Snow in Birmingham, one of the many European cities affected by the storm. 
Freezing temperatures, combined with snow over the past few days, have caused travel problems throughout Europe and been responsible for the deaths of 10 people. On Monday a strong winter storm moved across Europe, covering parts of France and the United Kingdom with several inches of snow.

The storm ranged as far as Germany, Belgium, and parts of Northern Italy. It brought with it freezing, Arctic-like temperatures ranging from -5° Celsius (23° Fahrenheit) to -10°C (14°F) in the United Kingdom and France, down to -31°C (-24°F) in central Romania and what felt like -26°C (-15°F) in Germany. Forecasters predict that the freezing temperatures may be the start of a cold spell that could affect the entire continent throughout the month. 

Monday's heavy snowstorm forced Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, slightly north of Paris, to cancel most of its flights. 1,658 passengers from Air France alone were stranded at the airport after their flights were grounded due to the heavy snow and icy conditions. The passengers from the 120 cancelled Air France flights spent the night in hotels near the airport which were accommodated for by the airline.

An official from Air France stated that the passengers "will have available food and hot drinks". Most flights were grounded until the next morning. Tuesday, an official from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle said, "It did not snow last night. The runways are clear and have been de-iced. Traffic is returning to normal." 

The frigid temperatures resulted in several school closings across France and the United Kingdom, with government forecasters from both countries predicting that the cold would stay for several days. Many schools in the United Kingdom were closed because of problems with their heating systems, while heating repair services in Britain received a record number of calls this week.

In Paris, accumulating snow and slippery ice resulted in French officials closing pedestrian access to the Eiffel Tower, one of the city's prime tourist locations.

"We can't put down salt because it's metallic, we can't use sand either because it risks getting into the elevator," stated a press official from the Eiffel Tower. The tower remained closed on Monday and re-opened on Tuesday. 

The storm has caused the deaths of at least 13 people, whether directly or indirectly. Polish government officials have reported that 10 people have frozen to death following overnight temperatures of -25°C as recorded throughout the country. Police in Germany reported that a 77-year-old mentally-ill woman also froze to death after she was reported missing from a nursing home in Weimar. Romanian officials reported that frigid temperatures killed two people and sent several to the hospital. Temperatures there were reported as low as -31°C in some parts.