The cold takes over northern Europe. A deep freeze blanketed parts of Scandinavia on Wednesday, with temperatures in northern Sweden reaching the lowest recorded January level in 25 years.
The mercury dropped to -43.6C in Kvikkjokk, north of the Arctic Circle, overnight, the national weather service said, and minimum temperatures in the far north are expected to remain near -30C until on Friday.
"In this period, a severe cold has set in across the north, where average temperatures deviate from normal by 6 to 17 degrees below normal," forecaster Maxar Technologies said in a report.
Train services between some major cities in Sweden's far north have been suspended to avoid the risk of passengers being stranded in the event of a breakdown. Rail connections further south, where there are orange and yellow warnings for snow and wind, are also inactive due to breakdowns caused by the extreme cold.
Stockholm may record a temperature of minus 17°C on Saturday, while temperatures will drop to minus 22°C in Helsinki on Sunday.
The cold wave is expected to spread across northwestern Europe over the weekend. London may see temperatures 4.3 degrees below the seasonal norm on Tuesday and Paris 6.3 below the seasonal norm, according to Maxar. Germany, which has issued warnings for heavy rain this week, may see temperatures 5 degrees below average in Berlin.
On Tuesday, gale-force winds hit Britain, disrupting power supplies and rail connections and causing severe flooding. Electricity providers are working to restore power to thousands of homes after Storm Henk brought winds of more than 80 miles per hour to parts of the country.
