Children play in the Royal Parc in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday. Snowfall was expected to continue in the coming days, with cold temperatures forecast to persist across the region as winter Storm Goretti hits the Atlantic coast of Europe. Photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA
Jan. 7 (UPI) — Flights and train service were delayed or canceled and driving became treacherous in parts of Europe on Wednesday as a winter storm hit the Atlantic coast.
Storm Goretti is the first named storm of the year in Europe, and it brought heavy snow, ice and cold to the area. Flights and train service were canceled or suspended in parts of France and Belgium.
About 100 flights were canceled at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and 40 more at the city’s Orly airport, France’s transportation minister said.
In parts of the United Kingdom, amber snow warnings were issued for “danger to life” conditions, The Independent reported. Wind gusts of up to 90 mph were expected Thursday night, bringing large waves and debris. About 12 inches of snow was expected in Wales and the Peak District in central England.
There were four yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Midlands. There were two more in eastern England and Wales, and a wind warning in the southwest.
A bus in Kent slid into a ditch, and a school coach full of children crashed into a bus in Reading after hitting black ice.
“Crews are reminding everyone to use extra caution when driving in cold temperatures as there could be black ice on the roads, so avoid sudden breaking and leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front,” the Kent Fire District warned.
Some intercity trains told passengers to reschedule Thursday travel to Wednesday to avoid the worst of the weather.
Flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport were canceled and delayed for the past week due to inclement weather. About 700 flights were canceled Wednesday, and Dutch airline KLM has been hit the hardest for the past six days, The Independent reported. Flightradar24 said more than 3,200 flights were canceled over the past week.
“While Schiphol certainly can operate during winter weather, the airport’s de-icing infrastructure obviously isn’t designed to handle a barrage of snow for multiple days in a row,” Daniel Gustafsson of Flightradar24 wrote on the site. He said there was also a “critical shortage” of de-icing fluid.
More than 1,000 people spent the night at Schiphol, the airport told Euronews. It said it set up cots and offered breakfast to travellers who had to sleep there.