Europe hit with more blizzards, bitter cold

More snow and bitterly cold winds were in the forecast for severalEuropean countries Saturday.

The latest blast of winter was expected to severely disrupt public transitin many parts of Germany, where the amount of snowfall reached 30 centimetres Friday night. Dozens offlights from the country'slargest airport in Frankfurt have been cancelled.

Britain, already deep in its longest cold spell in nearly 30 years,recorded its chilliest night yet this season, 22.3 C in theScottish Highlands village of Altnaharra.

Southwest England, which includesLondon, was expected to receive 18 centimetres of snowSaturday.

Train companies, including the cross-Channel Eurostar, said they would berunning reduced service.

Road salt isbeing rationedthroughout the United Kingdom. Officials say there's not enough for secondary roads and sidewalks. Poland, too, has seen shortages of salt for use on streets.

The German government has asked people to stockpile enough food,water and medicine to last through the next four days.

SouthernSpain, France unusually cold

Some 30 centimetresof snow fell on Arles and Avignon in southern France on Friday, according to the regional traffic centre, and snowdrifts piled higher than a metre.

Much of Spain was also shivering. A nature park in the normally temperate Murcia region in the southeast turned on heaters at a pen housing three giraffes more accustomed to savannah-like climes.

In the Catalonia region centred on Barcelona, snowy conditions prevented 72 schools from reopening after the Christmas vacation, providing an extra day off for more than 16,000 children.

Heavy rains caused flooding across central and southern Italy. Northern Italy was blanketed by snow, while Venice faced the "acqua alta" phenomenon exceptionally high tides which often flood most of the lagoon city in winter.

In Sweden, temperatures dropped to 38.7 C. Norway is facing its lowest temperatures in more than two decades. The mercury dropped Friday to 42Cat Roros airport, in central Norway the coldest temperature measured in mainland Norway since 1987.