Snow and ice ground flights and choke highways in parts of Europe

SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — More than 1,000 stranded passengers spent the night at Amsterdam's international airport as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads Wednesday.

In Paris, a skier slid along the snowy bank of the Seine river and roads and parks around the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum were blanketed in snow, which also snarled traffic in parts of France.

There was good news for some Berlin residents during the cold snap as power was being restored to thousands of households in the German capital that had been without electricity in freezing temperatures for four days following a suspected far-left attack on high-voltage lines, authorities said.

Schiphol Airport, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, set up hundreds of field beds overnight and served breakfast to weary travelers as staff worked to clear snow from runways and deice airplanes. At least 800 flights were canceled Wednesday at the airport, one of Europe's busiest aviation hubs.

Sonja Wurmlingel, trying to make her way home to Argentina, had to endure repeated disappointments and still was not sure how she would get back. She originally was supposed to fly via the German city of Düsseldorf, but that flight was canceled. Then she was rerouted through Paris, but that was canceled, too. The next option was taking a train to Düsseldorf.

“I’ve come from the train and they told me there’s no train,” she said, adding, after a long pause: “I don’t know.”

National airline KLM said that lines at the airport were decreasing, in part because passengers were warned on time that their flights were canceled, so they didn't head to the airport.

The Dutch rail and road networks were also hard hit by fresh snowfall during the morning rush hour and more squalls later in the day.

Rail operator NS urged travelers to “delay your journey if possible.” It warned of fewer trains operating as problems caused by the snow and icy temperatures in the Netherlands hit train travel harder than expected. Both domestic and international trains were affected, NS said.

Drivers braving the snowy conditions didn't fare much better, with more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) of traffic jams clogging the country's roads as trucks slid across highways and slow-moving snow plows cleared the roads.

France's national weather service, Meteo France, said large parts of northern and western France, including the Paris region, were on alert for snow and black ice. French authorities advised people to work from home and avoid using their cars in the snow-hit regions. Trucks and school buses were banned from using the roads. Bus traffic was suspended in Paris on Wednesday morning.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that more than 100 flights were canceled Wednesday at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and about 40 others at Paris Orly airport.

French railway company SNCF warned passengers about disruptions and delays because of weather conditions, saying that “snow on the tracks is forcing us to limit train speed and cancel trains or adjust traffic.” Eurostar trains between Paris, London and Brussels were also being delayed.

Even countries more accustomed to harsh winter weather reported problems as the snowy snap endured over large parts of Europe.

There was heavy snow in western Sweden, and authorities in Göteborg took all the city’s trams out of service Wednesday morning because of the weather, broadcaster SVT reported. Snow banks churned up by passing trams posed a risk to other traffic.

In Finland, difficulties starting diesel buses that had been standing in the cold over the holidays and poor driving conditions led to bus cancellations and delays in the Helsinki area, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press journalists around Europe contributed to this report.

A car drives carefully on a snowy street when people facing a cold wave bringing winter weather with snow and ice to the industrial Ruhr area in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

People sit on a tree branch in the snow-covered Kolomenskoye park in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Ice builds up at a pier of Lake Balaton at Siofok, Hungary, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Tamas Vasvari/MTI via AP)/MTI via AP)

Stranded travellers wait at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 stranded passengers spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Stranded travellers queue at the information desk at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 people spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A person skies along the Seine river banks after a snowfall, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

People walk near the Eiffel Tower during a snowfall Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

An aircraft of Swiss airlines is de-iced at the airport Zurich, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

Cars drive through a frozen forest in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man rides a bike in an alley in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

HAIL, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Mitch Guthrie became the first driver to win a second stage in the Dakar Rally after Nani Roma was penalized for speeding in the Saudi desert on Thursday.

Guthrie won his first major stage on Tuesday and the American prevailed again on the 371-kilometer second half of the marathon stage from AlUla east to Hail.

Roma thought he'd won his 14th career car stage — one more than he achieved on a motorbike — after four hours by four seconds but a 70-second penalty meant he lost the stage by 66 seconds. Martin Prokop's third place gave Ford the podium sweep.

Henk Lategan, nearly 13 minutes behind the winner, held on to the overall lead in his Toyota but Nasser Al-Attiyah's second-placed Dacia and Mattias Ekström's third-placed Ford closed to less than six minutes behind.

But for a brief time near the end, Lategan opened the way for almost the entire day.

“It was really, really, really difficult, one of the most difficult stages I've had to open,” he said. “There were no bike tracks and a lot of the tracks were really, really small tracks. The rain washed a lot of them away. The last two days you didn't really want to open but Brett did a great job to get us here. For the car to make it through two days of marathon is actually an amazing job by the team seeing that this car was tested for the first time three months ago.”

Roma improved from seventh to fourth and Guthrie from 13th to sixth. They were separated by Ford teammate Carlos Sainz, the four-time champion less than nine minutes off the pace with eight stages to go, including another two-day marathon next week outside Bisha.

Argentine rider Luciano Benavides won the 356-kilometer motorbike stage, emulating his brother Kevin, who won the stage into Hail in 2024.

Hero's Ignacio Cornejo was second, nearly four minutes behind, and defending champion Daniel Sanders third.

Benavides was chasing KTM teammate Edgar Canet, the prologue and stage one winner, until Canet stopped at about 240 kilometers after the foam melted on his rear wheel. Canet lost an hour. He started the day fourth overall but has plunged out of title contention. The same problem affected Ross Branch, who lost over an hour and fell from sixth overall.

Benavides recovered from knee, shoulder and back injuries in October at the Moroccan Rally to line up in his ninth Dakar. Early in Thursday's stage he suffered a high-speed crash but he and his motorbike came through unscathed.

“I'm super, super proud because it was not clear if I would race this Dakar,” Benavides said. “I'm super emotional because I ... suffered quite a lot to be here and get another stage win."

He's at a career-best third in the general standings, six minutes behind teammate Sanders, who regained the lead from Honda's Tosha Schareina and Ricky Brabec.

Brabec was still second, two minutes back but Schareina was penalized 10 minutes for forgetting to leave the bivouac between the flags. He's still fourth overall and only 12 minutes back.

Teammate Adrien van Beveren, third the last two years, was running second in the stage when a wire became stuck in his wheel. He lost 30 minutes and recovered to ninth but was 53 minutes behind overall.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Drivers and co-drivers pack up their tents before the start of the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally between Alula and Hail, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Mathieu Serradori and co-driver Loic Minaudier compete during the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally between Alula and Hail, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Mitch Guthrie, left, and co-driver Kellon Walch talk after the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally between Alula and Hail, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Christian Lavieille and co-driver Valentin Sarreaud compete during the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally between Alula and Hail, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)