Map shows how snow is spreading across Europe with five killed on icy roads

Three people have died and thousands of homes have been left without electricity as heavy snowfall and blizzards swept across Europe.

One man died in Moldova, two people were killed in Bulgaria, and two died in Germany after their vehicles were involved in crashes on icy roads.

German authorities have urged people to stay at home after snowfall and freezing temperatures led to dangerous road conditions, causing several car accidents and leaving people trapped in their cars.

Follow the latest updates on weather warnings and snow in the UK on our live blog

Weather warnings have been issued in Germany after experts predicted up to 20cm (8in) of snow could fall at the beginning of the week, and a state of emergency has been declared in Bulgaria.

Temperatures are set to drop to -4.5°C in Berlin, while Helsinki will remain at around -8°C and were predicted to reach -9°C in Moldova on Monday.

Snow will continue to sweep across Europe throughout the week, and the UK hasn’t escaped the white stuff as a yellow warning for snow and ice was issued by the Met Office yesterday.

Much of Europe has seen snowfall in the last couple of days (Picture: Metro Graphics/Datawrapper)

These cars were involved in an icy smash in Saxony, Germany (Picture: Action Press/Shutterstock)

A girl rides a sledge in a Ukraine park as the country is hit with snow (Picture: Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Red weather warnings were issued in eastern parts of Romania earlier this week, as winds were forecast to reach speeds of 100kmph.

Heavy snowfall caused more than 400 localities to suffer electrical outages, Romania’s energy minister said, with both national and local roads in four counties forced to close.

Ukrainian authorities were forced to issue yellow and orange weather warnings earlier this week, covering much of the country, due to the drop in temperatures.

More than 1,000 settlements across north eastern Bulgaria were left without power, its prime minister said, as heavy snowfall closed roads, caused traffic accidents, and downed trees and power lines.

A yellow warning for extremely low temperature was issued for the capital Sofia on Monday, which could see temperature drop between -7°C and -11°C.

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Plus, German meteorologists predict snow and sleet will persist across many states in the coming days.

A 40-year-old man in Moldova died on Sunday after the vehicle he was in skidded off the road and crashed into a tree.

A 71-year-old man died in a snowy crash in Germany on Monday, with a 54-year-old also killed after skidding on black ice.

Meanwhile, two people in Bulgaria were killed and another 36 injured in traffic accidents during the stormy weather.

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