ROME (AP) — Romans awoke Monday to a rare snowfall, after an Arctic storm dumped snow over much of Europe.
Rome’s Mediterranean climate and proximity to the sea usually result in mild winters, such that restaurants often keep outdoor seating open year-round. As a result, Monday’s modest snowfall brought excited young Romans out for a rare snowball fight or walk in the slush.
Elsewhere in much of northern and central Italy, the storm also closed schools and disrupted transport.
Other news from the European storm:
— Sweden: Prime Minister Stefan Lofven was uninjured after his car skidded off the road in a snow storm and smashed into railing north of Stockholm.
— Britain: Bad weather and anticipation of more in the coming days has forced British Airways to cancel a number of short-haul flights into and out of London Heathrow Airport. The airline also warned passengers on Monday that cold, wet or snowy weather is likely to lead to some delays and disruptions through Friday.
Snow and high winds also led to train cancellations and warnings of delays on the road.
The intense winter weather has been dubbed “The Beast from the East” by the country’s tabloids, citing Siberia as the source of Britain’s misery.
Forecasters say parts of Britain will feel colder than the Arctic Circle because of low temperatures and high winds.
— Lithuania: Officials say the record low temperatures have claimed the lives of at least three people over the weekend in the Baltic nation’s capital. Emergency medical officials in Vilnius reported Monday that, in addition, some seven people were have received substantial frostbite to their hands and feet in the past few days.
The Hydrometeorological Service said temperatures plunged as low as minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit in the central Lithuanian town of Ukmerge both Sunday and Monday.
Baltic neighbor Latvia reported that eight people have been rushed to hospital with hypothermia and frostbite due to the cold spell.
Estonia’s state weather service is forecasting the cold spell to remain in the Baltic region throughout this week, with temperatures expected to drop to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.
— Croatia: State TV says the collision of a truck and a bus in a snow-covered northwestern region has seriously injured 14 people. The report says the accident happened around 11 a.m. Monday in the mountainous Gorski Kotar area that has been worst-affected by a spell of harsh winter weather in the country.
Freezing temperatures and heavy snow have closed down schools and restricted traffic throughout Croatia. Temperatures have dropped to freezing even along the Adriatic coast.
— Germany: Meteorologists reported a record cold for this winter of minus 16.6 Fahrenheit on the Zugspitze mountain in the Alps.
The German news agency dpa reported that in the northern city of Bremen, at least 10 flights were canceled due to snow, and along the Baltic coast in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, several cars crashed on icy streets, injuring at least four people.
— Russia: Temperatures in Moscow also dropped to this winter’s low. The Meteorological Office said on Monday the mercury in the Russian capital dropped to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday night, the coldest night this winter.
Meteorologists are forecasting unusually low temperatures for early March. Roman Vilfand, chief of the Russian Meteorological Office, told the Interfax news agency that Muscovites should brace themselves for frosty weather in early March and could only “count on the warmth of the soul,” not higher temperatures outside.
Moscow earlier this month saw what has been described as the strongest snowfall on record when more than a month’s average of snow fell on the city, turning streets and yards into snowdrifts.
