Winter storm dumps more than 40cm of snow on the capital, while in France, Storm Pedro follows hot of heels of Storm Nils
While the days are lengthening and meteorological spring is just a couple of weeks away, Romania has been firmly in the grip of winter.
A storm brought blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall across much of the south-east of the country, with the capital, Bucharest, receiving 40cm of snow – far above the February average of 11cm.
Public transport was severely disrupted, as international airports closed and trains were delayed by up to six hours. Motorway traffic was also disrupted and a number of main routes into Bucharest were closed because of snow. The chaos was exacerbated by hundreds of trees and many power lines being brought down under the weight of the snow, with power outages affecting 200,000 homes.
Meanwhile, in parts of France the wet winter that has plagued much of western Europe continued, as Storm Pedro followed hot on the heels of Storm Nils, worsening existing flooding.
