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Icy storm lashes France and Germany causing hardship Icy weather in Europe causes more hardship and chaos
(about 11 hours later)
An icy storm has been lashing parts of western Europe, causing power cuts in many homes, felling trees and disrupting some rail services. Much of Europe continues to be hit by icy weather with strong winds and powerful storms causing traffic chaos, power cuts and travel delays.
In France power cuts affected more than 237,000 homes as the storm swept across Normandy and regions north of Paris. Electricity supplies to nearly 350,000 homes in France were temporarily cut, while severe flood warnings are in place on England's east coast.
In Dieppe, on the coast, winds reached 146km/h (90.5mph). As Germany prepares for more heavy snow, forecasters say the worst of the weather is heading eastwards.
The storm, nicknamed "Egon", later hit southern Germany - mainly Rhineland-Palatinate and northern Bavaria. Power cuts and traffic jams were widespread. Freezing conditions continue in the Balkans and Turkey.
Emergency teams were out in force during the night in France and Germany. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the cold weather was responsible for countless road accidents and school closures in addition to cancelled flights.
A woman died in Saint-Jeannet, in south-eastern France, when a tree toppled over and crushed her. She had been getting her children ready for school, Le Parisien website reported (in French). It also warned about the impact of the cold weather on the homeless and migrants.
In some parts of France schools and colleges have cancelled classes. In Soissons, north of Paris, the storm smashed a rose window in the historic cathedral and damaged the organ. Officials are especially worried about the plight of these groups of people in Greece and Serbia.
Drivers have been warned of treacherous conditions on some German roads, because of snow and black ice. Three motorists died in crashes in Bavaria. Thousands of migrants in the Balkans live in tents with little heating.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, earlier said several migrants had died from cold and exhaustion in Bulgaria.
Freezing temperatures
Some countries are suffering some of the heaviest snowfall in many years, with the Danube river and Bosporus sea strait closed to shipping.
"Montenegro, Serbia, the republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria were much colder than normal, with temperatures as low as -15C over five consecutive days," the WMO said.
"The surrounding countries - Italy, Greece, Turkey and Romania were 5 to 10C colder than normal for the time of year."
The Severe Weather Europe Facebook page has images of vehicles enveloped by snow in Hungary, cars abandoned on the side of the road because of freezing rain in Italy, treacherously high seas in the Faroe Islands and video of a powerful blizzard in the Swiss Alps.
In France, where coastal winds reached 146km/h (90.5mph), a woman died when a tree was blown over near the Mediterranean resort of Nice.
Another woman in Albania was found dead outside her home in freezing conditions in the southern town of Saranda.
Drivers in Germany have been warned of treacherous conditions on some roads, because of snow and black ice. Three motorists have died in crashes in Bavaria.
Meanwhile, flood defences have been reinforced on Belgium's coast.Meanwhile, flood defences have been reinforced on Belgium's coast.
The cold snap across Europe has claimed more than 65 lives. Poland and much of south-eastern Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and western Turkey, are in the grip of heavy snow and freezing cold. The cold snap across Europe has claimed more than 65 lives.
Thousands of migrants in the Balkans are poorly protected against the icy conditions, as many are still in tents and have little heating.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said several migrants had died from cold and exhaustion in Bulgaria.
It urged Greece to move more quickly to transfer migrants to better facilities on the mainland, following a report that on the island of Samos at least 1,000 people were sheltering in unheated buildings.
The wind and snow in Germany forced Lufthansa to cancel 125 flights at Frankfurt/Main airport.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn also set a 200km/h speed limit on high-speed ICE trains, which caused some travel delays.