Heavy snow and freezing rain have led to widespread disruptions across the UK, where several major airports have been forced to cancel flights and several roads in northern England are impassable.
In several parts of the UK, over 10 centimeters of snow have fallen – in the Pennine mountain range in northern England, up to 40 centimeters of snow are expected by late Sunday evening.
Air Traffic Affected
In the British cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester, the runways were temporarily closed due to the weather on Sunday morning. Later in the day, the airports were able to reopen – but airline executives are still warning of extensive delays.
The weather forecast also shows that the snow will turn to rain over southern UK – which means the snow on the ground will melt. According to the BBC, flooding is now expected in several places.
According to Deutsche Welle, the airline Lufthansa has also warned of changes in air traffic in both Austria and Switzerland.
At Frankfurt Airport, several flights to popular destinations such as Paris, Venice, and Prague have been cancelled. Even Munich Airport has been affected by snow and ice.
Sporting Events at Risk
In addition to air travel, passengers traveling by train on Sunday can also expect disruptions in several parts of Europe.
On the railways in the UK, many departures were cancelled, and the disruptions may continue into the working week.
Many sporting events have already been postponed, and the heavyweight match in the Premier League between Liverpool and Manchester United looked set to be at risk. But at the last minute, Liverpool confirmed that the match will go ahead as planned, according to the BBC.
