Market News

(Bloomberg) -- Freezing Arctic weather is testing Europe’s transport and power systems, while a blizzard is hitting the Nordic region. 

There are alerts for snow and ice across a swath of France from Brittany to the southern Alps. In Switzerland, as much as 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow is forecast above 1,600 meters, especially in Lower Valais. There are yellow warnings for snow in northern Scotland and the southwest of England.

The icy weather will force some European countries to tap gas reserves as heating demand increases. Further north in Finland, a snowstorm dubbed Jari caused power cuts and disrupted public transport across the country. 

By Thursday morning, the blizzard had left nearly 70,000 households without electricity, according to Finnish Energy, with winds on the west coast peaking at 34 meters per second. A train crashed into a fallen tree on Wednesday evening, while power lines have been brought down and roads blocked.

There are orange and yellow weather warnings along the Swedish east coast, with local media reporting up to 50 centimeters of snow expected in some places. People have been advised not to travel and thousands of homes are without power.

“A deep low pressure along Finland’s coast is causing strong gusts and the cold air is generating heavy snow fall,” Emma Harenstam, a meteorologist at Sweden’s national weather service SMHI, said on its website.

In the Mediterranean, an orange wind alert is still in place for Corsica, where port and airport operations were disrupted on Wednesday.

There are also warnings for strong winds along the west coast of Spain and the Balearic Islands.

--With assistance from Eamon Akil Farhat.