Heavy snow falls across continent

EUROPE froze as the continent experienced some of its coldest temperatures in decades on Wednesday, the death toll from the weather topped 80 and countries battled to clear snow from roads and railways. At least 28 people froze to death overnight in eastern and central Europe, while countries further west and south began to feel the effects of a cold front spreading from Siberia.

Snow hit Italy, which struggled to clear motorways and railways after heavy falls, and the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. In Italy snow caused traffic chaos in the northern cities of Bologna and Milan and trucks have been banned from the roads in the central regions of Marche, Tuscany and Umbria until further notice. As bad weather halted all work around the beached cruise liner Costa Concordia, forecasters predicted more snow and colder temperatures in the days ahead, with a low of minus 20C in the Alps. Temperatures also plunged in France to seven degrees below the seasonal average, according to the national weather service, and southern areas were hit hard by snow and ice. In Corsica, most mountain passes were closed by heavy snow and power cuts hit some 60,000 homes in the island and neighbouring French mainland.

Meanwhile snow is set to fall across parts of the UK this weekend as freezing weather conditions continue to sweep across the nation. Daytime temperatures have fallen four or five degrees below the average for February at 1-4C but the mercury is expected to drop considerably over the coming days and the rain that is forecast for Saturday and Sunday is now expected to fall as snow.

A cold front spreading south east will mean Scotland and northern England are likely to see wintery showers on Saturday while the Midlands and the South East are expected to get a dusting of snow on Sunday. About half a centimetre of snow is expected to settle in some regions. In the UK on Thursday temperatures are unlikely to rise above 2C in London - well below the capital's average high of 7C for February. An amber warning is expected to remain in place through England until Friday.  The biting conditions are expected to become milder on Monday.