PARIS: Heavy snow blanketed Paris Wednesday forcing the closure of the Eiffel Tower and briefly shutting its main airport as sub-zero temperatures turned Scottish roads into deadly ice sheets and Spain and Portugal cleared up after flooding and tornado-like winds. Road, rail and air travelers faced fresh disruption following last week's transport shutdown with Paris's Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport closed for an hour-and-a-half and the mercury plummeting as low as minus 18.3 degrees Celsius (minus one degree Fahrenheit) at Tyndrum in the Scottish highlands. In Portugal the high winds carried off cars, uprooted trees, tore off roofs and blew over electricity poles Tuesday, leaving around 30 people injured. A second body was recovered in Spain Wednesday following flooding. France's meteorological service France Meteo said 11 centimeters (four inches) of snow fell in central Paris, the heaviest snowfall since 1987. Around 100 flights were prevented from taking off or landing at Roissy airport during the temporary closure while workers cleared the runways of the heavy snow that began falling around midday, airport officials said. Thousands of passengers were stranded at the airport late Wednesday as the approach roads to Roissy were blocked, Air France said.. The operators of the Eiffel Tower first shut only the first floor of the giant monument that is one of the world's most visited sites. “But since late morning the Eiffel Tower has been completely closed and will certainly not reopen today,” said a spokesman. In Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond said everything possible was being done to keep the country moving. – Agence France
