A woman with an umbrella walks past a billboard during snowfall in Moscow. Snow fell yesterday across Moscow, while temperatures reached -7 degrees Celsius.


AFP/DPA/Paris

Icy roads were disrupting transport as northwestern Europe remained in the grip of unseasonable weather yesterday but many services were resuming after a severe late-winter snowstorm.
The snowstorm on Monday and Tuesday, only a few days before the official start of spring on March 20, caused widespread travel chaos with the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the suspension of train services including cross-Channel Eurostar trains.
The Eurostar link between London and Paris, the Thalys line between Paris and Brussels and other high-speed connections in northern France resumed running early yesterday, though there were warnings of delays.
After being forced to close briefly, Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s third-busiest, said it expected services to progressively return to normal after 812 flights were cancelled on Tuesday.
Cots were put out, and many passengers – an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 – spent the night at the airport, a spokesman for the airport’s operator, Fraport AG, said.
Wednesday began with more cancellations and delays. Eighty-two flights were struck and “there will certainly be more”, the spokesman said.
France was the worst affected by the snowstorm but Belgium, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands also reported major disruptions.
Services were returning to normal in France, with the Paris Metro and suburban train services running, though buses were cancelled because of icy road conditions.
The sun was shining in Paris, where buildings were covered in a picturesque blanket of snow and a lone cross-country skier was seen on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower.
The temperature was at -5 degrees Celsius, well below seasonal averages.
The icy conditions were causing road closures and slowdowns, in particular in the north of France.
However, highways were gradually opening as snowdrifts were cleared and vehicles stranded during the snowstorm were recovered.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned that disruptions could continue for another 48 hours.
“I think that things should be better by Friday, at least on the weather front,” he said. “The situation is under control, the organisation is at the necessary level.”
About 69,000 homes were without power in France yesterday, including about 30,000 that lost electricity after the snowstorm moved south into the Alps.
In northwestern France, two men died of exposure. Most of the country’s power outages were seen in Brittany and Normandy while at least 1,300 cars were stuck in the snow, trapping their drivers and passengers for up to 15 hours.
At Paris’ Orly Airport, a Tunisair jet with 140 passengers on board slid off the runaway on landing, leading to the temporary closure of one the airport’s runways. There were no reports of injuries.
Temperatures hovered close to freezing in Britain, with snow expected in parts of Scotland and eastern England.
Motorways in the south of the country were blocked as lorries were backed up following delays to freight and passenger services through the Channel Tunnel.
Belgium was also seeing a return to normal with train and public transport services improving, though icy roads were causing some disruptions.
Traffic was backed up for kilometres on German highways and roads. The western states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate were the worst affected.
At least 100 cars were involved in one pile-up that was part of a series of ice-related accidents in Hesse. Several dozen people were injured in the collision near Muenzenberg.
One side of the highway was cleared by morning yesterday, a police spokesman said.
Another accident killed a 29-year-old man in Stadtallendorf in Hesse, and another road fatality was reported in North Rhine-Westphalia, where more than 800 accidents had been reported since Monday afternoon.
The conditions were not expected to improve in the coming days. Snow and freezing temperatures were expected to move south, the German Meteorological Service said.