Cold Spell Persists Into Next Week Across Parts of Western Europe

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(Bloomberg) — Icy weather across Northwest Europe is expected to persist until early next week, when temperatures are forecast to rebound to near seasonal norms again.

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Temperatures in London are expected to be 4 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average on Thursday, while Paris will be 5.5 degrees Celsius colder than the norm on Sunday, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. The French capital and Frankfurt will remain colder than the norm throughout next week.

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Wintry conditions returned to the continent after a record-warm start to the year that eased Europe’s energy crunch. The mild temperatures curbed heating demand and even allowed some countries to top up natural gas supplies at a time when they’d usually be tapping storage. 

“After warm and stormy in the past two weeks of January, it has now becoming rather wintry,” said German national weather forecaster DWD, which expects snow for much of the country this weekend. 

Snow and ice warnings remain in place for Thursday for western and northern parts of the UK. Below-average temperatures are set to continue until Monday, before rising above seasonal averages.

For the region as a whole this week, Maxar sees a total of 82.7 heating-degree days — a measure of the energy needed to heat homes. That’s slightly above the 10-year average.

Warmer weather is persistent in the east of Europe, while the Nordics will enjoy unseasonably mild temperatures next week, Maxar said.

• For Bloomberg’s weather functions, see WFOR and EFOR