The thick pall of snow that has swept across central and southern Europe from Romania to the Belgian coast has brought record low temperatures, and left a trail of death in its wake.
The worst winter for decades has produced both record high and low temperatures across the Continent in recent weeks, leaving authorities dreading the expected influx of skiers and tourists this weekend as half-term holidays start.
The annual rush to the slopes from France, Germany and the Low Countries is expected to be hazardous, with lethal driving conditions and blocked roads all week.
Yesterday, a further two feet of snow fell across western Austria - to add to the nearly six feet which have fallen since the weekend - and the Austrian army was called out to airlift supplies to tourists and skiers trapped in the Tyrol for the last five days.
Up to 6,000 skiers were thought to be snowed in at Ischgl and 3,000 at Galtuer on the Swiss border.
The northern Alps in Switzerland were also snowed in yesterday, with a further 18 inches of snow falling on top of the seven-feet drifts since the weekend. Both Zurich and Basle airports closed for a time.
A cafe owner and his wife were swept to their deaths near Interlaken earlier in the week when their flat above the premises was hit by an avalanche. The authorities yesterday were evacuating other nearby villagers.
An avalanche closed a main road in the north-west of Romania and roads were also blocked in Slovenia - where Ljubljana airport was closed by snow - parts of Italy, southern Germany and Switzerland. The alpine tunnels at Mont Blanc and the St Bernard Pass were also closed for a time for fear of avalanches.
Rain and snow also swept across Italy yesterday, with 70 mph gales hitting Trieste and temperatures of minus 11 Celsius on roads into nearby Slovenia. Torrential rain brought alerts in case of mud slides in Umbria and around the town of Sarno, near Naples, badly damaged by a slide last summer.
Scandinavia has experienced the coldest winter for decades, with temperatures in Lapland dropping to a record low of minus 51.5 Celsius.