page_title: Winter of 2009–10 in Europe
section_title: 6–9 January
hierarchical_section_title: Winter of 2009–10 in Europe / January 2010 / 6–9 January
caption_attribution_description: English: Satellite image of snow-covered Great Britain on 7 January 2010, taken by MODIS on NASA's Terra satellite. Français&#160;: Image satellite prise le 7 janvier 2010 de la Grande-Bretagne sous la neige, par le satellite Terra de la NASA. Echelle&#160;: 1 pixel = 250 m.
context_page_description: The winter of 2009–2010 in Europe was unusually cold. Globally, unusual weather patterns brought cold, moist air from the north. 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. This led to a number of deaths, widespread transport disruption, power failures and postponed sporting events.
context_section_description: The synoptic situation in northern Europe settled into a steady northeast wind, which brought snow showers and belts of snow.
  The British Army had to help stranded motorists in southern areas.
  The Met Office confirmed that 40 centimetres (16 in) of snow fell in some parts of southern England. A severe warning issued by the Met Office was in place for every region in the UK. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said Scotland was experiencing its worst winter since 1963.
  Further deaths in Wales, Shetland and Aberdeenshire were recorded. Hawick and most of the southern Scottish Borders was cut off from the rest of the country for two days, and roads in the southeast of England were left with traffic jams and abandoned cars. 8,000 schools were closed.
  The lowest registered temperature on 7 January in Sweden was −40.8 °C (−41.4 °F) in Hemavan.
  In the Netherlands and Belgium, road salt used to keep the roads clear of snow and ice was running out.
  National and secondary schools in Ireland were supposed to open after the Christmas break on this day; however, many were forced to close because of weather conditions. On 8 January, the Minister for Education announced that all schools were to remain closed until at least Thursday, 14 January.
  On the Luas Green line there were difficulties getting up slopes, such as those between Harcourt and Charlemont and between Beechwood and Cowper. This had caused some delays (especially when salt was scarce for sand tanks on the trams) for Dublin pedestrians. Major reservoirs in County Cork, County Dublin and County Limerick were critically low; in areas such as County Laois and the rural areas of County Cork, bottled water was supplied by the Irish army. This had also been done for the people affected by floods in October and November 2009. The National Grid issued its second alert in three days, asking suppliers to provide more gas and some businesses to switch to other power sources, as gas usage hit record levels.
  BBC News reported heavy snowfall as far south as Granada, Spain on 8 January.
  A new record of −9 °C (16 °F) was also recorded in Dublin, Ireland. Temperatures in County Limerick dropped to −11.1 °C (12.0 °F). In Kuusamo, Finland, the lowest registered temperature was −37.1 °C (−34.8 °F).
  In Norway, the temperature dropped to −42.4 °C (−44.3 °F) at Tynset.
  In Germany more than 30 centimetres (12 in) of snow fell on the island of Rügen, and the entire country was blanketed in snow.  German officials also acknowledged a shortage of grit, and feared that high winds and drifting snow would lead to road closures.
  In France, officials closed Autoroute 35 for trucks because of heavy snow, and over 400 truck drivers bound for Germany had to make an unscheduled overnight stop.  In the early morning hours of 9 January, the autoroute was also closed to cars. The storm also grounded 160 flights at the Frankfurt am Main international airport.
  Snow fell heavily in some parts of Spain. Prades (Tarragona, southern Catalonia) sported a 120 cm snow cover after a 30-plus- hour storm, which led to an 18-hour closure of the AP7 motorway at La Jonquera (at the Spanish/French border).
  Overnight temperatures of −22.3 °C (−8.1 °F) were recorded in Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands.
  Deal and Sandwich in Kent, England, were virtually cut off by snowdrifts on 9 January.
  Snow showers persisted in the east of the UK. In the far south east, snow showers merged into longer and more persistent areas of snow. A low temperature of −14.5 °C (5.9 °F) was recorded at Tulloch Bridge. The football schedule was also heavily affected by the snowfall; all but seven games (two in both the Premier League and League 1 and three in the Championship) were postponed in England, and all but five Scottish Cup games were played in Scotland. Several Guinness Premiership games and horse-racing meets were cancelled as well. Dublin Airport was closed once again. Flights to Kraków in southern Poland were diverted to the airport in Katowice, due to fog which prevented planes from landing. Met Éireann issued a weather warning with up to
caption: Satellite picture showing extent of snow cover across Great Britain and Ireland on 7 January
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