Storm causes chaos in Poland and Germany

Frigid temperatures, heavy snow and icy roads are causing major problems for travelers in Europe. The bad weather is causing traffic and train delays in Poland and Germany.

Slippery roads led to numerous accidents in parts of Germany overnight Friday into Saturday. Bad weather on Friday caused miles-long traffic jams on the Autobahn near the city of Hanover.

Ruediger Wloka, Hanover Motorway Police, said, "In the period between 0530 a.m. yesterday and today we have had 50 accidents. On a comparable weekend we usually have 5 to 20 accidents, so the increase is nearly tenfold. Friday is the day of travel, now before the Christmas holidays it's been a lot busier than normal."

Severe weather conditions in central and southern Poland also caused problems for a third day on Saturday. In the capital Warsaw, road conditions have improved since Thursday, but temperatures were still very low.

Bad driving conditions caused big traffic jams and severe delays for both cars and public transport buses. Worse off were travellers wanting to take the train on Saturday.

Trains to Warsaw and Poznan were delayed by at least an hour. The Polish Meteorological Institute forecast more snow in central and northeastern parts of the country for Sunday. Temperatures are expected to remain at below minus 10 degrees Celsius.