The severe winter weather is continuing to cause problems in several countries in Europe.

In north-eastern Germany, dozens of drivers have been trapped in snow on the motorway. Rescue attempts are being severely hampered by the weather and by the time many drivers were rescued, the snow had reached their car windows.

In the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, two trains were forced to a standstill for hours. In the neighbouring state of Schleswig-Holstein, a dam is threatening to break under the strain of flood waters. On the country's eastern sea coast, dozens of villages have been cut off from the outside world.

The weather has also badly affected air travel, in particular in the German city of Frankfurt and the French cities of Paris and Lyon, where dozens of flights had to be cancelled. Switzerland's Geneva airport was even closed for a short while.

In southern Poland, heavy snowfall has damaged electricity cables and left around 80,000 people without power.

Photo of winter weather by EPA