Britain, Ireland brace for blast of Hurricane Katia

Waves crash over the seafront as a train travels past in Saltcoats, west Scotland Tuesday.  (Reuters/David Moir)

DUBLIN—Tropical Storm Katia shut down roads, bridges and sporting events Monday in Ireland and Britain, where residents braced for the strongest wind gusts in 15 years.

Forecasters in both countries said Monday's gusts would top 125 km/h as the storm — previously a hurricane as it roared across the Atlantic — made driving, shipfaring and even walking dangerous in broad swathes of Ireland, Scotland and northern England.

Most ferry services between Ireland and Britain were cancelled, and fishing boats along the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Scotland were warned to head into port.

Britain's government forecasting service, the Met Office, told the public to be ready for the strongest winds since October 1996, when the tail end of Hurricane Lili killed five Britons and caused an estimated $250 million of damage there.

The Met Office said winds were averaging 88 km/h while the strongest reported gust so far was 128 km/h at a mountain station in North Wales. Gusts in the Northern Ireland border town of Castlederg reached 118 km/h.

Heavy rainfall was expected to hit the north of Ireland and central Scotland, where Transport Minister Keith Brown reassured travellers that emergency crews were ready to handle accidents, road blockages and power outages.

“Robust contingency arrangements are in place so people should not panic,” Brown said.

The Tour of Britain cycling race cancelled Monday's planned second stage across northern England after deeming the course's most exposed and elevated points too dangerous.

Ireland, which is regularly buffeted by strong Atlantic winds, also warned of exceptionally dangerous driving conditions and the risk of widespread coastal flooding. Towns along Ireland's Atlantic coast last experienced heavy flooding in November 2010.

A bridge spanning a bay in County Donegal, northwest Ireland, was closed Monday as a precaution, while fallen trees obstructed roads in several other parts of the island, including Limerick in the southwest.

Ireland's Electricity Supply Board said its engineers were trying to restore power to about 11,000 homes along the Irish Republic's border with Northern Ireland. Another 2,000 homes in Dublin lost power because of toppled electricity lines.

Authorities in Norway, Sweden and Denmark said they expected gale-force winds to arrive there Tuesday.

Ireland and Britain periodically catch the tail-end of Atlantic hurricanes as they travel northeast with the Gulf Stream and weaken into tropical storms.

The Met Office said Britain and Ireland felt the winds of one former hurricane in 2009, three in 2006, two in 2000, one in 1998 and one in 1996, when Lili's winds topped 145 km/h and brought widespread disruption to Britain and Ireland.

Katia is the second major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, forming two weeks ago near the west African islands of Cape Verde. Katia travelled in a C-shape route toward the Caribbean and the eastern United States but didn't reach landfall there, then headed northeast to Europe.

- Associated Press

Record heat in U.K.; France swelters

Britain recorded the hottest day of the year so far on Sunday, with temperatures hitting 32 C.

Here's a look at how a few people were coping:

Locals cool off in the fountains of Royal Festival Hall in London June 27, 2011. Britain's Met Office issued its first hot weather health alert of the summer, as temperatures soared towards 32C. (Olivia Harris/Reuters)

Children play in a fountain near the Tower of London. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

At Trafalgar Square. (Akira Suemori/AP photo)

People enjoy the hot weather at the beach, on the coast of South Shields, England, Monday, June 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

But if it was hot in England, it was scorching in Paris, with temperatures hitting 35 C.:

People cool off in fountains in front of the Eiffel Tower on Monday, June 27, 2011 as temperatures in Paris hit 35 C. (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)

A Parisian and his dog cool off in the Trocadero fountain on Monday. (Michel Euler/ AP Photo)

People sunbathe near the Tuileries garden fountains on Monday. (Jacques Brinon/ AP Photo)

People dangle their feet in the Tuileries fountain on Monday. (Jacques Brinon/AP Photo)

Heat is on ... in Europe

Here a  few more pcitures of people enjoying the warmth in Europe, while we feel the chill here.

A couple lie by the River Thames on April 7, 2011 in Windsor, England. Much of Britain continues to enjoy unseasonably warm weather, recording the hottest day of the year so far yesterday, with temperatures reaching 22 C. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Three mothers push prams down the Long Walk on April 7, 2011 in Windsor, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

People enjoy the sunny sprinng weather at the Tuileries garden on April 7, 2011 in Paris. (MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)

People lunch on the beach of Nice, southern France, Thursday, April. 7 , 2011. Temperatures rose to 24 C. (Lionel Cironneau/AP photo)

A Japanese cherry tree stands in full bloom on April 7, 2011 in Potsdam, eastern Germany. Spring has arrived in northern parts of the country, bringing sun and temperatures up to 20 C. (PATRICK PLEUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Two women lie on a flower-covered lawn in Zurich  on  April 7, 2011. (Arnd Wiegmann/REUTERS)

While Toronto freezes, England's warming up

Had enough of the cold weather yet?

This should make you feel even better: London has been enjoying unseasonably warm weather.

Two young men play guitars in Hyde Park on April 6, 2011. Much of Britain recorded the hottest day of the year so far today, with temperatures expected to reach 22C this weekend. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A woman sunbathes on a deck chair in Hyde Park. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Photos: Gulf Stream bypasses the U.K.

The sun sets over the sea looking towards Lands End viewed from Gwenver beach near Sennen Cove on Feb. 7, 2011 in Cornwall, England.

Like many parts of the U.K., Cornwall is currently enjoying milder weather after what has been one of the harshest winters on record.

Normally, the Gulf Stream, which brings warm air from the Caribbean, makes Cornwall's weather a lot milder than other places in the world at the same latitude (such as Newfoundland) and gives it the U.K.'s only area of sub-tropical climate.

This winter however, the Gulf Stream was diverted, leading to arctic weather conditions. (Photos by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Bizarre weather? Blame 'rollercoaster' jet stream

A snowplow is driven on the second runway, in an attempt to get it operational again, at Heathrow Airport on Dec. 21, 2010. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Parts of Europe may be getting the cold shoulder, but parts of Canada have been experiencing abnormally warm weather.

There have been record-breaking temperatures in parts of northern Canada like Iqaluit, which has had its warmest year ever.

Anger rises over European travel chaos

Passengers wait for their flights, which were disrupted by snow and freezing temperatures, inside Terminal 4 at London's Heathrow Airport, Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. (AP Photo/PA, Steve Parsons)

LONDON--Frustrated travelers in Europe expressed fury Monday at transportation officials' inability to clear snow and ice from planes, runways and high-speed train tracks, failings that have caused holiday travel chaos and fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas.

Snow snarls air, road and rail travel in Europe

A plow clears snow at Heathrow Airport in London on Dec. 19, 2010.

LONDON - Snow and freezing temperatures continued to cause holiday travel chaos Monday for road, rail and air passengers in Britain and much of Europe after a weekend of disruption.

Airlines said that Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, was the worst hit by the poor weather — with only a limited number of flights to arrive and depart. Hundreds of passengers camped overnight in terminal buildings after services were cancelled or delayed.

Eurostar reported that its trains linking England to France and Belgium were also severely delayed or cancelled and urged travellers to cancel or postpone their trips if possible.

In Germany flight operations were slowed even though Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest, was clear of snow and ice. Officials cancelled about 300 flights there Monday, out of a planned total of 1,340, because of problems elsewhere in Europe, airport operator Fraport said.

French civil aviation authorities, meanwhile, asked airlines to reduce their flights at the two main Paris airports by 30 per cent.

French aviation spokesman Eric Heraud said these reductions take into account the problems at other European airports that may be destinations for flights from Charles de Gaulle or Orly airports.

More snow is forecast in some areas of Britain for Monday afternoon, adding to the problems, with British Airways warning of more flight cancellations, particularly in the greater London area, where all airports have been affected.

Airports and British travel industry group ABTA have warned it is almost inevitable that some cancellations and delays will continue through this week and likely snarl those attempting to head away for the holiday season.

British Airways warned passengers not to travel to London's Heathrow airport unless they have a confirmed seat on a flight known to be operating despite the weather problems and the backlog of delays. It urged travellers to consider cancelling their flight if possible.

Icy conditions were also hampering travel across Europe, with flights cancelled and delayed in multiple countries at the weekend.

"We are awaiting further updates," before publishing the schedule for the remainder of the day, British Airways said in a statement. "Customers should continue to check their flight status as more snow is forecast this afternoon, which could cause further disruption to airport operations."

In Britain criticism of the breakdown in the air and road system mounted, prompting Transport Secretary Philip Hammond to promise an inquiry into the way passengers were treated after their flights were cancelled. He was expected to address Parliament about the crisis Monday afternoon.

Travellers described scenes of chaos for those arriving at the Heathrow airport, with officials offering contradictory messages about the status of flights.

"What I am hearing is a sense of outrage about the way they were then treated when they were stranded at Heathrow airport," Hammond told BBC television.

Authorities in parts of western Germany banned trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons from highways as a safety measure.

Bus traffic in the Paris region was "very disturbed," the RATP transport authority said, with buses to the airports halted.

Forecasters have said Britain is experiencing some of the most severe winter weather in a century, with continued freezing temperatures and snowfall accumulations expected Monday afternoon and evening.

Temperatures plunged to a record low overnight in Northern Ireland, and forecasters predicted fresh deluges of snow across Britain.

Motoring organizations have warned of potentially fatal conditions on Britain's icy roads as commuters tried to get to work.

- Gregory Katz, The Associated Press; Geir Moulson in Berlin and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

Snow grounds European air travel

Cars and trucks make their way across the snowy motorway A3 near Wiesbaden-Breckenheim, western Germany on Dec. 17, 2010. Heavy snowfall during the night caused obstructions of traffic all over Germany. (JUERGEN MAHNKE/AFP/Getty Images)

BERLIN—Heavy overnight snowfall grounded about 450 flights and caused major delays at German airports Friday, forced schools to close, left highways clogged with traffic and caused scores of accidents that killed at least two people.

Cold wreaks havoc in Europe

Ice is removed from a Lufthansa aircraft at the airport in Frankfurt, central Germany, on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010. Due to heavy snowfalls all runways of the Frankfurt airport had to be closed for four hours late Wednesday. (Mario Vedder/AP)

Snowfall, ice and freezing temperatures forced many travellers to camp out overnight at Paris and Frankfurt airports, while Scotland called in the army Thursday to clear snow.