Blowtorch used to deice frozen Eiffel Tower after storm hits
By
Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Feb 12, 2021 5:58 AM EST
Parisians woke up to find Paris, France, dusted in snow on Feb. 10.
Workers at the Eiffel Tower in Paris this week resorted to a unique method for deicing the iconic landmark after a blast of winter weather hit: blowtorches.
The official Twitter account for the Eiffel Tower shared video showing maintenance staff using a handheld flamethrower to melt away snow and ice that fell in the wake of Storm Darcy, which lashed Europe over the weekend with all manner of winter impacts and set the stage for more stormy weather to follow.
Multiple storms quickly trailed in Darcy’s footsteps and brought more wintry weather to northern Europe. Meanwhile, another storm that tracked to the south over France and into Italy before reaching the Balkan Peninsula has kept colder air over northern portions of the continent.
When a storm swooped into France late on Tuesday, enough cold air was in place for precipitation to fall mainly as snow and leave the City of Lights dusted with a fresh dusting.
Paris picked up about an inch (3 cm) of snow on Tuesday night and the temperature plummeted to 21 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees below zero Celsius). The normal low temperature at this time of year for the French capital is 34 F (1 C).
The blowtorch method was deployed at the Eiffel Tower, according to the post on Twitter, because salt used to melt the ice "is too corrosive for the metal." And the cleanup of snow and ice became a theme across Europe through the middle of the week.
Over the past weekend, Storm Darcy, also known as Storm Tristan in some parts of Europe, moved across the continent and produced accumulating snowfall from the United Kingdom to Belarus and Ukraine.
Snow showers continued into the middle of the week in the United Kingdom in the wake of Storm Darcy as sea-effect snow developed. Edinburgh, Scotland, could be seen covered in snow earlier this week.
Sea-effect snow was caused by cold winds blowing over the relatively warmer North Sea, explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Zartman.
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Snow-covered roads in Normandy and Brittany caused highways to be closed due to a lack of snow-clearing equipment since snowfall is rare for these regions situated on the northern coast of France.
Storm Darcy brought the first "proper snowstorm" to the Netherlands in over 10 years after winds of 39-46 mph (63-74 km/h) were measured as snow fell. This prompted officials to issue a rare "code red" warning across the entire country.
Temperatures forecast to remain below freezing (32 F or 0 C) through Saturday, raising the hopes of the locals that canals will freeze, allowing residents to go ice skating, a favored pastime in the Dutch country.
Travel disruptions were also reported across Germany in the aftermath of Storm Darcy. Accumulating snowfall caused numerous traffic accidents and halted train services.
Snowfall totals of 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) were common across parts of Germany, including the capital city of Berlin. The German town, Braunlage, also recorded the highest snowfall total from Darcy with a storm total of 19.7 inches (50 cm).
Following this storm, the winter weather is not done across parts of Western Europe. On Friday, yet another storm moved into southwestern France from the Bay of Biscay.
A bit of rain and snow feel in Nantes Friday morning while rain feeling Bordeaux and Toulouse.
Through the weekend, the storm will continue to dive southeastward, crossing southern Italy before southern Greece. Rome and Naples, Italy can expect rainy spells through the weekend while rain could change to snow in Athens by Monday.
Winter weather may even linger across some portions of Europe as the seasons change from winter to spring, according to AccuWeather's spring forecast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Blowtorch used to deice frozen Eiffel Tower after storm hits
By Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Feb 12, 2021 5:58 AM EST
Parisians woke up to find Paris, France, dusted in snow on Feb. 10.
Workers at the Eiffel Tower in Paris this week resorted to a unique method for deicing the iconic landmark after a blast of winter weather hit: blowtorches.
The official Twitter account for the Eiffel Tower shared video showing maintenance staff using a handheld flamethrower to melt away snow and ice that fell in the wake of Storm Darcy, which lashed Europe over the weekend with all manner of winter impacts and set the stage for more stormy weather to follow.
Multiple storms quickly trailed in Darcy’s footsteps and brought more wintry weather to northern Europe. Meanwhile, another storm that tracked to the south over France and into Italy before reaching the Balkan Peninsula has kept colder air over northern portions of the continent.
When a storm swooped into France late on Tuesday, enough cold air was in place for precipitation to fall mainly as snow and leave the City of Lights dusted with a fresh dusting.
Paris picked up about an inch (3 cm) of snow on Tuesday night and the temperature plummeted to 21 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees below zero Celsius). The normal low temperature at this time of year for the French capital is 34 F (1 C).
The blowtorch method was deployed at the Eiffel Tower, according to the post on Twitter, because salt used to melt the ice "is too corrosive for the metal." And the cleanup of snow and ice became a theme across Europe through the middle of the week.
Over the past weekend, Storm Darcy, also known as Storm Tristan in some parts of Europe, moved across the continent and produced accumulating snowfall from the United Kingdom to Belarus and Ukraine.
Snow showers continued into the middle of the week in the United Kingdom in the wake of Storm Darcy as sea-effect snow developed. Edinburgh, Scotland, could be seen covered in snow earlier this week.
Sea-effect snow was caused by cold winds blowing over the relatively warmer North Sea, explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Tony Zartman.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Snow-covered roads in Normandy and Brittany caused highways to be closed due to a lack of snow-clearing equipment since snowfall is rare for these regions situated on the northern coast of France.
Storm Darcy brought the first "proper snowstorm" to the Netherlands in over 10 years after winds of 39-46 mph (63-74 km/h) were measured as snow fell. This prompted officials to issue a rare "code red" warning across the entire country.
Temperatures forecast to remain below freezing (32 F or 0 C) through Saturday, raising the hopes of the locals that canals will freeze, allowing residents to go ice skating, a favored pastime in the Dutch country.
Related:
Travel disruptions were also reported across Germany in the aftermath of Storm Darcy. Accumulating snowfall caused numerous traffic accidents and halted train services.
Snowfall totals of 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) were common across parts of Germany, including the capital city of Berlin. The German town, Braunlage, also recorded the highest snowfall total from Darcy with a storm total of 19.7 inches (50 cm).
Following this storm, the winter weather is not done across parts of Western Europe. On Friday, yet another storm moved into southwestern France from the Bay of Biscay.
A bit of rain and snow feel in Nantes Friday morning while rain feeling Bordeaux and Toulouse.
Through the weekend, the storm will continue to dive southeastward, crossing southern Italy before southern Greece. Rome and Naples, Italy can expect rainy spells through the weekend while rain could change to snow in Athens by Monday.
Winter weather may even linger across some portions of Europe as the seasons change from winter to spring, according to AccuWeather's spring forecast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo