Significant snowfalls in France caused major delays to train services and electricity cuts, while Germans were urged to stock up on food and medicines as they braced for up to 20 centimetres (eight inches) of snowfall overnight.

"What is being forecast for the weekend could lead to chaotic traffic conditions and potentially leave large parts of Germany completely paralysed," the Autoclub Europa warned.

Britain, suffering its worst winter for three decades, prepared for further freezing conditions as forecasters warned that temperatures would drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.

Two men died after falling into a frozen lake in Leicester, central England.

Hundreds of flights were scrapped leaving more passengers stranded and the beleaguered Eurostar link between Britain, France and Belgium axed half its services Friday and said the disruption would continue into the weekend.

The conditions sparked concern for energy supplies in Britain, where 27 major companies were ordered to halt using gas Friday in order to maintain overall supplies of the fuel.

Ninety-seven major companies had their gas turned off Thursday, in the first such move since 2003, although the government said there was no immediate danger for households.

"We've got plenty of supplies, the gas storage is about 70 percent full," Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told GMTV television.

Eurostar cancelled half of its trains between London and Paris Friday, and said only about two-thirds of services between London and the continent would operate over the weekend.

"It's going to be a similarly restrictive timetable for Saturday, with two-thirds (of trains) in all directions," a Eurostar spokesman told AFP in London, adding that "it should be the same" for Sunday.

Low-cost airline easyJet cancelled 32 flights, largely to and from London Gatwick and Liverpool airports. British Airways cancelled around 60 departures from London Heathrow, while around 90 incoming flights were scrapped.

On the roads, the AA motor vehicle breakdown service said it had dealt with 340,000 breakdowns since December 17.

Thousands of schools remained closed, while several of the weekend's English Premier League football matches were called off, including a showdown between heavyweights Liverpool and Tottenham in northwest England.

In France, aviation authorities asked airlines to cut a quarter of flights on Saturday at Paris's main Charles de Gaulle airport due to forecasts for heavy snow.

In the southern city of Arles, some 15,000 people were left without electricity after power lines collapsed under the weight of snow. Around 30 centimetres fell in some parts of the southeast.

In Norway, temperatures hit minus 42 degrees Celsius in the central village of Folldal. The plunging temperatures forced a rise in electricity demand, sending prices up too.

In Poland, nine people died in the past two days, bringing the total to 139 since the start of November, a police spokesman told AFP. Most of the victims were described as homeless.

Switzerland's 24.5 kilometre (15.3 mile) Gotthard Tunnel, part of a strategic trans-European motorway that runs from Germany to Italy, was due to reopen to trucks following heavy snowfall.

Most of mainland Spain was put on alert for fresh snowfalls, strong winds and low temperatures, while heavy rain caused several floods in the southern Andalusia region.

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