LONDON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Transportation across Europe was disrupted Thursday by heavy snows and sub-zero temperatures that officials in several countries blamed for 15 deaths.
Temperatures were as low as minus 14 in Poland Wednesday, where officials said eight people died of exposure, the BBC reported Thursday. Officials said five people died in other Central European countries and two died in Britain.
Flight delays were reported at airports in Belgium, Germany, Austria, France and the Czech Republic, the BBC said. Belgium officials reported nearly 365 miles of traffic jams along its roads.
Eurostar trains originating France suffered cancellations or delays while heavy snow trapped road travelers in Brittany and Normandy, officials said.
In Britain, snow forced officials to close Gatwick airport and to reduce service for some rail lines.
The numbing conditions were expected to continue for several days as the storm system lodged over western Europe moved to the east, forecasters said.
"We've got unusually cold air over large parts of the eastern Atlantic, and where that meets warm air coming for example from the Mediterranean you have a lot of snow," Heinz Maurer of Meteosuisse, the Swiss national weather service, told the BBC.
