Storm Goretti causes problems in western Europe. Cold wave, unusually heavy snowfalls and disrupted transport

Western Europe is facing, on Wednesday, a strong storm that brought large amounts of snow, as well as a wave of frost. Storm Goretti also affected transportation: several flights were canceled, rail services were disrupted, and roads were also blocked, Reuters reports.

Cold weather warnings issued by forecasters covered large areas of France and Britain on Wednesday. Heavy snow has hit the Paris region since the early hours of this morning, while particularly severe conditions are expected in southern Britain on Thursday and Friday.

France is particularly affected by bad weather. The Météo-France weather service has placed 38 departments in metropolitan France on orange alert for snow and ice for the entire day on Wednesday, according to BFM TV.

French officials banned trucks and school buses from the roads in a third of all administrative departments, mostly in the northern half of the country.

Météo France warned that snow would spread across the northern half of the country on Wednesday, and Britain's Met Office said frost warnings would remain in place in Scotland.

Paris transport disruptions

In the Île-de-France region, heavier than usual snowfall for the region has caused transport chaos this week.

Bus services in Paris were suspended on Wednesday and trains are running at reduced speeds on the entire RER A line due to the snow. Train delays and cancellations are expected.

According to BFM TV, more than 700 kilometers of traffic jams were recorded on the roads of the Île-de-France region on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., being an exceptional situation. Traffic jams were caused by traffic slowing and the closure of the N118 motorway due to snow.

Roads around Paris were also congested this morning with traffic jams.

Flights canceled at all airports near Paris

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot announced on Tuesday the cancellation of “over a hundred flights” at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, France's largest airport, due to the snow.

At Paris-Orly airport, around 40 flights were canceled on Wednesday morning.

In Paris, because of the bad weather, the president Nicușor Dan, who could not return to Romania, after participating in the “Coalition of the Will” meeting, is also stuck. It is located at the Paris – Le Bourget airport, used mainly for private flights.

The president was supposed to return to Bucharest on Tuesday evening, but the takeoff is also delayed on Wednesday due to heavy snow and the airport runway is covered with snow.

Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, forced to cancel 800 flights

At the same time, Amsterdam-Schiphol airport, one of the largest in Europe, announced the cancellation of at least 800 flights on Wednesday due to snow and wind, reports France Presse.

More than a thousand people spent the night at Schiphol, he said, which set up camping beds and offered breakfast to those who had to sleep at the airport.

1,100 flights were scheduled for this day, of which 800 were cancelled, but their number is expected to increase throughout the day.

Rail traffic is also heavily disrupted in the Netherlands. The railway company NS advises travelers for whom travel is not absolutely necessary to postpone their journey.

In Brussels, some flights were canceled and de-icing of runways and aircraft wings caused delays.