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Storm Leonardo is testing patience across Europe, from devastating floods to an extreme cold snap, while the UK has seen non-stop rain for days.
Spain and Portugal are coping with a spate of winter storms, with the newest, Storm Leo, unleashing non-stop rain resulting in deadly flooding and risk of landslides.
Meanwhile in Germany, dozens of flights have been cancelled at Berlin Airport after wintry weather caused black ice on the tarmac.
The Nordic and Baltic countries face an exceptional cold snap, with Lithuania breaking its coldest recorded temperature since 1996, -34.3C.
Flight cancellations at Berlin Airport
The flurry of cancellations began yesterday evening as Germany is gripped by snow and ice.
The country has seen freezing rain, which has changed into ice once it hit the bottom, forcing airports to take precautions.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport warned that attributable to the weather conditions ‘there could also be delays in arrival in addition to flight cancellations and delays in air traffic.’
Passengers are advised to envision the status of their flight with the airline.
Several departing flights have been cancelled from Berlin Brandenburg this morning, including British Airways and easyJet flights to London.
Ryanair’s 10.15am flight FR2961 to Birmingham and to Edinburgh at 10.55am appear as cancelled on Flightradar24.
British Airways flight to London at 11.45am can be listed as cancelled, in keeping with the flight tracking website.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
In line with the Civil Aviation Authority, UK and EU airlines must take care of you in case your flight is delayed or cancelled.
This includes all the pieces from meals and accommodation to another flight if crucial.
Citizen’s Advice says that airlines also needs to give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails and, in the event that they give you a play to remain, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.
Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers on the airport. When doubtful, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airline.
But an airliner will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses. The hotel minibar or penthouse suites likely can’t be expensed.
When you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to envision their terms and conditions. Though, for essentially the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
If a flight is cancelled, passengers have the correct to choose from getting their a reimbursement, re-routing or a return flight.
These rules do generally apply during bad weather, while airlines aren’t liable in ‘extraordinary circumstances’ just like the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption.
Major flooding hits Spain and Portugal
Some areas, especially in southern Spain, have seen as much as 23 inches of rain in only 24 hours, with some mountainous areas recording a 12 months’s value of precipitation from Storm Leo.
forcing nearly 4,000 people to depart their homes in Andalusia, where widespread power outages have also been reported.
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The region was placed under a rare red alert after torrential rain, flooding and risk of landslides, and 1000’s of soldiers were drafted in to assist with the evacuations.
In Portugal, a person in his 60s was confirmed dead after his automotive was submerged in floodwater.
The country is already reeling from the devastation brought on by the previous Storm Kristin last week, which killed at the very least six people.
A 40-year-old woman has been missing since Wednesday evening within the Malaga province after attempting to rescue her dog from a river.
A search has been ongoing to seek out the girl, named locally as Carolina, who was swept away by the swollen Turvilla river within the village of Sayalonga.
Her dog was spotted later, but there was no sight of the girl despite the search and rescue teams scouring the river downstream.
More wet weather is anticipated to land within the Iberian Peninsula as Storm Marta is about to reach over the weekend.
What’s the UK weather forecast?
While the brunt of Storm Leonardo has been felt within the Mediterranean, the UK has had its fair proportion of wet weather, with grey skies feeling just like the norm over the past few weeks.
Those hoping for a drier weekend are more likely to be upset after the forecaster said there’s ‘no end in sight’ for rain.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain ahead of the weekend.
Heavy downpours are expected across the South East of England, the South West, West Midlands and Wales until 9pm, while Northern Ireland will see showers until midnight.
Met Office operational meteorologist Dan Stroud said: ‘Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight.
‘Little or no in the way in which of change, and the explanation for it truly is that we’ve got a giant area of high pressure way out to the far north and east of the country and that’s stopping areas of low pressure from moving through.
‘Until that area of high pressure type of shifts out of the way in which, we’re probably not going to see see much of a change within the forecast.
‘At the identical time, we’ve got the jet stream technique to the south, bringing exceptional wet weather to Spain and Portugal.’
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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