Rare Snowstorm Paralyzes Europe's Major Cities, Turns Paris Into Urban Ski Hill - SnowBrains

"The airport was not designed for snow like this. The pilot said it himself over the intercom as our plane stood there, motionless. The pilot repeated himself an hour later. Then another hour later we finally made it to the gate. I think it was an hour. I sat there in soft, blurry, jet-lagged state, thoroughly exhausted from the overnight journey from Salt Lake City, dozing in and out of consciousness."

"By sheer luck I made it out of Amsterdam and arrived in Warsaw 7 hours after I was intended to be there due to a continent-wide snowstorm that hit much of the northern parts of Central Europe, from the Netherlands to Poland. The airlines lost my baggage, likely left behind in the mayhem of Amsterdam. I was tired and humbled by the whole experience. A warm bed never seemed so delightful yet so far away at the same time."

Runways froze and airplanes gridlocked at Amsterdam Airport, producing long delays and widespread cancellations. Pilots noted the airport was not designed for such heavy snow, leaving passengers stranded and exhausted in crowded terminals. A traveler reached Warsaw seven hours late and reported lost baggage amid the chaos. Warsaw appeared covered in roughly 12 inches of snow, transforming the city into a striking, quiet winter scene. The storm, dubbed Storm Goretti, moved in from the Atlantic and spread snow and ice across northwestern Europe. In Paris, snow coated landmarks including the Champs de Mars, Tuileries Garden, and Montmartre.

Read at SnowBrains