Snowed In: Unprecedented Snow Traps Thousands in Europe

Earth Changes 101

Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in their homes, as parts of southeastern Europe face the biggest snowstorm in recorded history!

Emergency services and authorities used helicopters to evacuate the sick and the elderly as well as deliver food to thousands of people in areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has been hit by the heaviest snow in living memory. Hundreds of villages in the country are completely cut off from the outside world after an astonishing six and a half feet of snow fell. The capital of Sarajevo is currently under a State of Emergency, with a record-breaking three and a half feet of the white powder paralyzing the city.

In the neighboring nation of Serbia, hundreds of thousands of residents remain cut-off, as emergency services work feverishly to help clear roads and deliver food and medical supplies to people trapped in their homes. Throughout a large portion of Europe, bitter cold temperatures, heavy snows and strong winds have created nightmarish gridlock and caused many large cities to shut down completely.

Heavy snows and cold temperatures sank as far south as Naples, Italy, and portions of the Mediterranean island of Corsica, usually blessed with mild winter weather, saw eight inches of snow. Landmarks in Rome were shut down from the snow and ice, for fear that tourists would fall and hurt themselves. Great Britain was not spared winter's wrath and hundreds of flights out of London's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest, were cancelled due to heavy snows and winds, creating a travel nightmare.

The overall death toll in the European Deep Freeze currently stands at over 275, with a majority of the deaths comprised of the homeless community, caught unaware by the savage winter storm and bitterly cold temperatures, not seen in some parts of the continent for centuries.

Bongiorno, Inverno: Rare Snow Falls on Rome as Europe Experiences Deep Freeze

As a large part of the United States enjoys uncommonly mild winter weather, parts of Europe are stuck in the Deep Freeze.

Rare, thick snowflakes fell upon the Eternal City of Rome, Italy, today, prompting the shutdown of major tourist attractions in the city, included the famed Colosseum, for fear that tourists would fall down in the icy conditions. The Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors, were also closed for tourists during the extremely rare snow day for Bella Roma, a city which is usually blessed with a more temperate, mild climate.

Elsewhere in Europe, countries are faring far worse, with frigid temperatures and heavy snowfalls battering a large portion of the continent. Hundreds of deaths have been reported throughout the Ukraine and parts of Russia, as the cold hits the homeless community as well as an aging population the hardest. Exacerbating the condition are rolling blackouts, caused by the extreme dip in the temperatures as well as ice and high winds.

Istanbul, Turkey, was paralyzed by heavy snows and high winds, which snarled traffic and suspended the all-important passenger ferry boats on the Bosporus and Marmara Sea. Serbia declared a national state of emergency, as heavy snow pounded the region, knocking out power to over 100,000 homes.

A ferocious winter blizzard was predicted to hit Colorado and the Plain States in the US, with a potentially record-breaking winter storm set to dump unprecedented snows on Denver, with winter weather warnings out for at least five other states. In the south, heavy rains and tornadoes are expected.

There's just something about the weather....