Weather systems were undergoing cyclogenesis from North American storms moving across the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and saw many parts of Europe experiencing heavy snowfall and record-low temperatures.

[5] During the night of 18–19 December, five Eurostar trains were stuck in the Channel Tunnel, trapping more than 2,000 people for up to 16 hours after the vehicles suffered electrical failures because of freezing overnight temperatures.

[8] The cause of the breakdowns was unclear; Eurostar initially blamed the sudden contrast between freezing temperatures above ground and the 25 °C (77 °F) heat of the tunnel, which affected the high-speed engines.

Public appeals were made to the Polish community to report any homeless or drunk people lying outdoors, in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths from exposure to the cold.

[18] Air travel was disrupted in the United Kingdom, with Southampton Airport cancelling (or diverting) all inbound and outbound flights until midday due to a frozen runway.

[21] Two women were killed and more than 40 people injured following a coach crash on an ungritted country road in Cornwall, as a party returned from a trip to see Christmas lights in Mousehole the previous evening.

Some Boxing Day sporting fixtures were cancelled (or postponed) because of continuing icy conditions in certain areas, including the National Hunt meeting at Towcester and all but two of the Scottish Football League's matches.

The A75 between Stranraer and Newton Stewart was closed due to icy conditions; while the southbound carriageway of the A9 was blocked between the A824 and B8081 in Perth and Kinross following an accident at Gleneagles.

The runway of Inverness Airport was briefly closed because of snow and ice, and First ScotRail reduced its service to and from Glasgow Central because of the severe conditions.

However, the snow and icy conditions were good for the Scottish ski industry, which said the weather helped it to experience its best start to the season for several years.

[35] Two climbers were killed as a result of a snow slide on Ben Nevis, while a man was airlifted from Liathach (a mountain in Torridon) after getting into trouble, but died in hospital.

[48] The worst incident occurred in the Diemtig Valley; avalanches hit a group of skiers and their rescuers, killing four people (including a doctor).

Hawick and most of the southern Scottish Borders was cut off from the rest of the country for two days,[52] and roads in the southeast of England were left with traffic jams and abandoned cars.

Prades (Tarragona, southern Catalonia) sported a 120 cm snow cover after a 30-plus- hour storm,[citation needed] which led to an 18-hour closure of the AP7 motorway at La Jonquera (at the Spanish/French border).

[69] In Denmark, army personnel carriers were once again deployed in the southern part of the country to assist emergency services as drifting continued to cause traffic problems.

[70] A large depression moved into the Western Approaches from the Atlantic on 10 January and began to infiltrate the coldest areas of Britain, bringing a thaw to southwest England.

Especially along the coast and on the islands of Usedom, Rügen and Fehmarn, snowdrifts made roads, parts of the coastal autobahn and rail tracks impassable.

In northern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and eastern Schleswig-Holstein secondary roads were closed and trains cancelled, while snowplows and excavators struggled to keep the main routes free.

[71] In Denmark, drifting continued to disrupt traffic in the southern part of the country; army personnel carriers were used to assist emergency services.

Parts of southern Spain, such as Seville, saw their first snow since 1954 or Mérida since 1983 On 11 January, England and Wales continued to feel the effects of the depression in the Western Approaches.

Due to a mix of bitter cold and the milder system trying to push in from the Atlantic, heavy snowfall in the United Kingdom resumed; there were fresh accumulations (on top of existing snow) of up to 15 centimetres (6 inches) on 12 January in Wales and South West England.

[80][81][82] At least 43 people were killed after more than a month's worth of rain fell in southern Madeira in five hours during a strong Atlantic winter storm, producing severe flooding and mudslides.

Heavy snowfall in Spain on 8 March left 220,000 people around the Catalan city of Girona without electricity due to a fault in a high-tension power cable.

[91] Heavy snow up to 40 cm (16 in) fell in southern France (including Provence and the Pyrenees), forcing flight cancellations, airport and motorway closures.

A snowstorm dumped over 30 centimetres of snow in southern Germany (including Bavaria), causing numerous traffic accidents and over two dozen injuries.

All services in Gosport, Fareham, Locks Heath, Titchfield, Whiteley and Warsash areas were suspended and remained so for two days because of road conditions.

The A3 and the A3(M) around Horndean and the Hindhead area and the A1 experienced disruption; many minor roads were closed and only the main motorway and A-road network were passable for much of 5, 6 and 7 January.

More than half the long-distance trains were cancelled, leaving hundreds of Lapland-bound winter holiday travellers stranded at Helsinki Central Railway station.

Winter vegetable crops such as cauliflower and potatoes were threatened by the icy temperatures, and harvesting of carrots, turnips, sugar beet and parsnips was delayed since the fields are frozen.

[106] A drop in about 30% of UK retail sales was estimated, with uneven consequences;[107] pubs, out-of-town shopping centres and department stores were worst affected.