Heavy snowfalls brought chaos to parts of Germany and Sweden on Friday, leaving roads blocked, trains halted and schools shut.

The Red Cross helped drivers stuck on a motorway in the southern German state of Bavaria and a nine-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree.

The front of a Swiss hotel was hit by an avalanche and a winter storm made roads impassable in Sweden and Norway.

Austrian rescuers had to battle through chest-deep snow to reach a snowboarder.

The 41-year-old Pole had lost his way after going off piste at the resort of Schlossalmbahn.

There was some respite in Austria on Friday, after three metres (10ft) of snow fell in some parts in previous days. Seven people have died in the past week and two hikers have been missing since Saturday.

"Such quantities of snow above 800m altitude only happen once every 30 to 100 years," said Alexander Radlherr from Austria's Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics.

The Austrian military sent helicopters to blow snow off treetops to reduce the risk of trees falling on roads and rails.

In Sweden wintry storms ravaged parts of the north. One area recorded winds of 49.7m per second (111mph) as Storm Jan ravaged Stekenjokk near the Norwegian border.

In northern Norway, a lorry driver described on Friday morning how he and other drivers had been stuck on a mountain road since 17:00 (16:00 GMT) on Thursday. Magnar Nicolaisen told public broadcaster NRK that he had slept in his cabin overnight while others had had to stay in their cars.

Conditions on Friday were particularly treacherous in Bavaria, where the local broadcaster said snowfalls were paralysing public life.

Rail services were worst hit in the south and east of the state and roads were cut off by drifts and falling trees.

A boy of nine was killed near Munich when a tree collapsed under the weight of snow. It was 40 minutes before he was found and emergency services were unable to revive him.

Two sections of the big A8 autobahn were closed in the south-east, as drivers spent Thursday night at a standstill near Rosenheim. The Bavarian Red Cross and a government agency came to the aid of the drivers.

Roads in the Berchtesgaden area close to the Austrian border were blocked and the army sent up to 200 soldiers to help hundreds of people caught up in the snow.

There was a let-up in the weather on Friday ahead of expected further snowfalls on Saturday night. However, some 90 flights were cancelled in Munich while some flights in Frankfurt were also hit.

Continued

Beautifully deadly.

wow too much of everything is bad

Earthbound:
Beautifully deadly.

Dangerously exciting

Walai! We find ourselves in peaceful possession of the fairest portion of this planet.

Thank God this kind of weather condition is not here in Nigeria.

This awesomely wonderful

Beautiful pics OP, makes me wish I was there.

Some African countries also get to enjoy some snow. Algeria & Lesotho every winter. South Africa some winters (June - August).

Pics of Lesotho & SA below.

This is one of the things we should be grateful for in West Africa, Akwaba

Oluwa go help my effort to be their before this year ends, Amen.
Men d here d handfan for this terrible heat condition why niggas there d freeze, Oluwa Abeg o

More photos

In Switzerland, an avalanche hit a hotel restaurant, injuring three people. Local reports said the avalanche had been 300m in width when it came down the Schwägalp.

Rescuers searched the area on Friday in case anyone near the Hotel Säntis had been caught up in the avalanche.

Cars were left buried in the snow and even a bus was left partly submerged.

One guest in the hotel restaurant said that initially he thought snow was falling from the roof.

"There there was a gigantic noise, and the back area of the restaurant was engulfed in masses of snow," the guest told Tagblatt.

Some hotel guests were taken to safety on Thursday night and the remainder were moved on Friday, Swiss reports said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46835677

Here is one story of tragedy from many:

Max's final minutes: How Australian family desperately battled to free their son, 16, with their bare hands after he was buried alive by an avalanche during tragic European skiing trip


The helpless family of an Australian teenager watched in horror as he was buried under a mountain of snow in a deadly avalanche in the Austrian alps.

Max Meyer, a 16-year-old Sydney International Grammar School student, was killed while skiing with his parents and 14 year old brother in St Anton am Arlberg on Wednesday.

When the avalanche hit the popular ski resort, Max's family could do nothing but dig with their bare hands.

They had no emergency supplies - not even a shovel.


The tragedy began when the family, who were all experienced skiers, became stuck in 'rough, untracked and very steep terrain' at about 4.40pm local time.

They made an emergency call, but were soon hit by an avalanche as they waited for rescuers to arrive.

Max and his mother were covered with snow. The 55-year-old was able to free herself.

Mountain Rescue team member Kurt Huettl told Nine News it was explained to the family that Max could not be saved, before the survivors were guided out on skis.

'We got them out, but it was the hard way out. We had to pass some trees and there is a river, there are rocks and so it was difficult to get them out,' he said.

'Sadly we could not bring the young boy out this way, we had to use ropes to bring him him up.'

Rescuers retrieved the boy's body in two metres of snow 20 minutes after arriving and were unable to revive him.

The teenager's German father and younger brother were uninjured in the avalanche.

Tributes have poured in for the 16-year-old, with a parent of a child at his high school describing him as 'such a bright boy' who was 'always excited to learn new things'.

It was 'such an enormous loss', the parent said.

A fellow student wrote on Facebook: 'He was an absolutely buzz to be around and so smart, especially in languages.

'He was always first to participate in initiatives at school and always striving to be more involved. Absolutely heartbreaking. He will missed by all of his peers.'

Parents at the school were told counsellors and senior staff would be on hand at the school today.

'Max Meyer was about to enter Year 11, and his life has been tragically cut short,' the principal, Shauna Colnan, said.

An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death, which is still the subject of ongoing police investigations.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6579775/Maxs-final-minutes-Australian-family-desperately-battled-free-son-16-bare-hands-buried-alive-avalanche-tragic-European-skiing-trip.html

Photo of Australian boy, including when he was on Australian TV 2 years ago showing a solar plant watering system he designed. The final picture is the scene of the tragedy.

In other news, Nigeria is getting hotter as we approach the end of harmattan.

Those are some amazing pics. And what a horrible way to go, being buried alive by an avalanche. RIP.

decatalyst:


Dangerously exciting

Awfully awesome

More from Germany:

More pictures from today, Sunday 13th January


Pic 1: Fallen tree in Unterstmatt, southern Germany
Pic 2: A rural scene in Nesutychi, 140 km (87 miles) west of Minsk, Belarus, one of the poorest countries in Europe (note horse and cart)
Pic 3: Hospental, Switzerland
Pic 4: Man clearing snow from Unken, Salzburg State, Austria,

Etisen. Akwaba. Charle

earthsync:

Awfully awesome

Hazardous fun

Omo i no see any enjoyment here oooh ... i for don die here oooh or run come back Nigeria

TMKsouth:
Beautiful pics OP, makes me wish I was there.

Some African countries also get to enjoy some snow. Algeria & Lesotho every winter. South Africa some winters (June - August).

Pics of Lesotho & SA below.

No deceive yourself, there is no snow in SA but the place is dangeriously cold

It seems that the snow continues in some places so some more amazing photos to share.

But first it is kind of sad that the last pic I uploaded was of a man clearing his roof of snow in Austria as "a worker, clearing snow off a roof has died after being swept away as the snow began to slide off in Austria. The 47-year-old man and three others were pushed off the six-meter (20-foot) roof in Faistenau, near Salzburg, on Monday and buried in the snow. Two others were hospitalised." RIP.

Now for the pics. Mostly it seems the oyibos have non-stop manual labour to make access to their homes and cars. Even the kids are set to work. The following photos are from Switzerland. Check out the icicles on the last upload - those have been known to kill people when falling off. Deadly.

With snow roads must close. The following pics come from southern Germany and Switzerland.

lonlytroy:


No deceive yourself, there is no snow in SA but the place is dangeriously cold

WATCH: Much of SA covered in snow, several mountain passes remain closed
https://m.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/watch-much-of-sa-covered-in-snow-several-mountain-passes-remain-closed-20180702

These are the best snow scenes in South Africa right now – but you only have three days to go find them
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/the-best-snow-scenes-in-south-africa-right-now-2018-8

SNOW COVERING PARTS OF COUNTRY AS COLD FRONT HITS SA
https://ewn.co.za/2017/08/17/snow-covering-some-parts-of-country-as-cold-front-hits-sa/amp

lonlytroy:


No deceive yourself, there is no snow in SA but the place is dangeriously cold

actually we do get snow, sporadically. don't forget it snows in Lesotho and they are completely surrounded by SA

TMKsouth:







WATCH: Much of SA covered in snow, several mountain passes remain closed
https://m.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/watch-much-of-sa-covered-in-snow-several-mountain-passes-remain-closed-20180702

These are the best snow scenes in South Africa right now – but you only have three days to go find them
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/the-best-snow-scenes-in-south-africa-right-now-2018-8

SNOW COVERING PARTS OF COUNTRY AS COLD FRONT HITS SA
https://ewn.co.za/2017/08/17/snow-covering-some-parts-of-country-as-cold-front-hits-sa/amp

This snow fell years ago, Not like SA have steady snow fall

lonlytroy:


This snow fell years ago, Not like SA have steady snow fall

Clearly u didn't open my links. Those articles are dated 2017 & 2018. There are many others before then.

Anyway, my original post said "some snow" and "some winters". Why are u so insistent that SA couldn't possibly experience snow? A simple Google search would sort this out.

Soo bad..
Even with all these wahala, they still have light.Seriously

Columba90:
Walai! We find ourselves in peaceful possession of the fairest portion of this planet.

Damn right bro

AbujaBlue:
With snow roads must close. The following pics come from southern Germany and Switzerland.

Wow this is extreme