Most of Europe suffered another weekend of weather misery with scores of cancelled flights, people freezing to death, dwindling supplies and motorways cut off as snow blanketed much of the continent.

Until now, Bulgaria has been shielded by the arctic onslaught, as the country basked in unseasonable spring weather over the past week. But the cold snap is approaching.

Moderate northwesterly winds will bring a cold front to Bulgaria throughout January 11. By late afternoon winds will intensify in strength, the Bulgarian Meteorologic Institute said on its website on January 11 2010. The cold front will be felt initially in the east and central part of the Danube valley.

Temperatures will drop from 14-17C, seen over the past few days, to between 5C and 11C, while Sofia should see the mercury drop to 7C, but without precipitation, the report said.

Temperatures will fall drastically in the mountains as the cold front advances, although snowfall is unlikely as scattered cloud formations prevail. Temperatures at 1200m will be around 0C, while at 2000m temperatures will fall to -7C. Just three days ago, temperatures at 2000m were 4C.

Along the Black Sea coast, the weather will be wet and cold, with winds increasing in the afternoon. Temperatures in Bulgaria are expected to decline drastically from January 13-14 onwards.

While Bulgaria experienced a temporary warm spell, Germany had as much as 25cm of snow over the weekend, with more expected. "All of Germany is white," Tania Dressel of the German weather services was quoted as saying by international media.

To help combat the cold, German authorities advised people to stock up on food provisions and medical supplies for up to four days, avoid all non-essential travel and sit out the cold spell at home.

In France, a heavy snow storm caused major delays to train services. Meanwhile, firefighters in the northwestern part of the country had to help emergency services pluck out as many as 130 motorists stranded overnight on frozen motorways and roads.

In the city of Lyon alone, about 1000 people were stranded at the airport, following the cancellations of dozens of flights.

Meanwhile in Britain, the arctic weather has been blamed for the deaths of about 25 people. Additionally, grit supplies have nearly run out, meaning that local councils can no longer cope with icy roads, affecting traffic and the local economy as a whole. The Times reported on January 11 2010 that "supplies of fresh milk led to the Government relaxing restrictions on delivery drivers, while schools were urged to stay open this week so that pupils can take GCSE and A-level exams".

Britain was subjected to yet another night of freezing temperatures, down to -14.5C in Tulloch Bridge in Scotland.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC weather forecast page, freezing temperatures in the UK will last at least until January 14.