Parts of northwestern Europe faced difficulties on Wednesday as they dealt with the impacts of the latest series of Atlantic storms, which caused rainfall or snow, while areas in the northern Scandinavian countries experienced severe cold. In northern France, rescue teams assisted in evacuating residents from homes flooded in the town of Arques in the Pas-de-Calais region, which has been inundated for the second time in two months. More rain is expected, ranging from 20 to 40 millimeters in just a few hours. A red alert indicated that a river is on the verge of overflowing its banks.
In southern Norway, the town of Kristiansand announced the closure of schools and the suspension of all public buses due to heavy snowfall. Storm "Henk" caused storms and torrential rain on both sides of the North Sea in England and Wales on Tuesday, leading to power outages, disrupted train travel, and the closure of major roads due to flooding. Trees fell in streets, roads, and railway lines, resulting in the death of a driver in southwestern England.
The Governor of East Flanders in Belgium, Carina Van Couter, stated on Wednesday that a 59-year-old woman died on Tuesday after being struck by a fence blown down by the winds during heavy rain in the country. The Swedish Meteorological Office reported that the village of Kvikkjokk in the Arctic recorded a nighttime temperature of -43.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature recorded in Sweden in January for 25 years. In Lapland, northern Finland, a woman was lost in a snowstorm while skiing on Tuesday, and her body was later found after she perished in an avalanche. Finnish police announced that the search for her child continues on Wednesday.
