Five photos that prove western Europe cannot handle snow
In Sheffield, England, a driver lost control on slushy roads Wednesday and crashed through the front room of a house. (Photo by Twitter user @lilyheartslola)
Wednesday, January 21, 2015, 4:04 PM - Winter has had parts of western Europe clutched in its icy grip this week, with rare snowfall causing traffic and travel chaos in England and northern Spain. Here are five photos that will make you glad you've got snow tires.
Unseasonably cold temperatures blanketing western Europe meant a round of Atlantic moisture fell as snow across parts of the UK Tuesday night. Snowfall amounts weren't substantial by Canadian standards, but enough to ground flights at Leeds Bradford airport in central England for several hours Wednesday morning while crews worked to clear runways.
Photo by Twitter user @Mattyk1985
In Manchester, video of a driver cruising down the motorway with their windshield completely obscured by snow caused a stir. The driver who recorded the footage with his rear dashcam said he was "absolutely gobsmacked" the person was able to drive that way for at least three minutes before exiting the motorway.
By far the craziest image to come out of social media from Wednesday's snow event is this shot of a car embedded in a house in Sheffield, England. The driver apparently lost control on the slushy residential road and crashed through the home's front window. Neighbours say the road had not been salted.
Photo by Twitter user @lilyheartslola
A separate deep low-pressure system brought widespread rain and high-elevation snow to Spain Wednesday. Here's what the highway through Somosierra - a high mountain pass - looked like:
Photo by Twitter user @ecanrog
Drivers stranded in snow in Sierra Bermeja, another mountainous area in the country's southeast, had to be rescued by Spain's Civil Protection Agency.
Photo via Twitter user @MalagaUrgente
The chaos may not be over yet - models are hinting at another 5 cm of snow for parts of England by lunchtime on Friday, and mountain snows are expected to continue in Spain through the weekend.
