Europe to remain icy cold and wet

LONDON, England -- Europe is set to remain in the grip of icy conditions and winter flooding until the New Year, weather forecasters predict.

Britain, which has been shivering its way through its frostiest winter since 1994, is set for more cold weather with temperatures dipping overnight on Friday to minus 12 degrees Celsius in Scotland.

The flooding which has forced 2,000 people to evacuate their homes in Montenegro will continue to affect the Balkans as the low front slowly moves eastwards.

Moscow and Scandinavia will continue to battle against a mixture of ice, snow and hail, with daytime temperatures in Oslo falling to minus four degrees Celsius.

MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath    RESOURCES Current weather forecasts for Europe

Spain and Portugal are also set to face gale force winds, while fears grow for an Oxford University rower who is still missing after his canoe capsized on Friday in the Ebro River 350 kilometres (220 miles) east of Madrid.

People across Europe were told to stay at home as temperatures struggled to rise above freezing.

Transport systems failed to cope with up to 15 centimetres of snow in parts of Britain and treacherous freezing fog and black ice on the roads.

Some planes and trains were cancelled with five-times the normal number of road accidents reported by the Automobile Association on Friday.

The sporting calendar was disrupted with 21 of Saturday's football matches called off.

More snow is expected across part of northern and western Britain overnight.

CNN's weather team is warning there could be more chaos ahead, with several lows moving into Greece and Turkey, while another low is brewing off the French Riviera that will make the previous bout of showers look "tame."

Most of the focus will be on western Europe where a huge storm will move in from the Atlantic.

Wet and extremely windy conditions will hit the Iberian Penninsula, France, Ireland and the UK for the New Year. This new storm will help to melt any snow in England while adding rain of its own, causing possible flooding.

Flooding in Montenegro forced 2,000 people to flee their homes and threatened historic monuments.

The UNESCO-protected medieval town of Kotor on the coast has been partly flooded since Thursday, its cobblestone streets under water.

Fears are growing for an Oxford University lightweight rower, named as Leo John Blockley, who failed to return to his nine colleagues after their canoe flipped over in strong winds and turbulent waters on Friday.

Heavy rain and snow in northern Spain in recent days have swollen water levels.

The Lightweight Rowing Club is distinct from the Oxford University Boat Club which competes in the annual Varsity race against Cambridge University on the Thames in the spring.

Some snow fell in Paris earlier this week, while Scandinavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine will have snow for a while, CNN forecasters said.

Russia is expected to experience more snow, though the first few days of the new year are expected to be milder.

Berlin daytime temperatures are expected to be as low as minus one degree Celsius on Saturday.

About 400 car accidents were recorded in the German capital, according to police, caused by heavy snowfall on Christmas Day, though conditions in the city improved on Thursday.

In the south of Germany, falling rain froze to ice as it hit the ground, resulting in treacherous black ice.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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UK Met Office
Meteorology, Berlin Free University
French meteorology
Northern Italian meteorology
The Automobile Association UK

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