Extremely cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow wreaked havoc across the Nordic region Thursday, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways. Heavy rains in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the last two weeks.

The deep freeze disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region amid reports of traffic chaos following closures of sections of highways and major roads. Problems with rail service have also been reported.

Electricity was cut to some 4,000 homes in Arctic Sweden where temperatures plummeted to minus 38 degrees Celsius (minus 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Swedish public radio. In the southern part of the country, motorists were stuck in their cars or evacuated to a nearby sporting complex where they spent the night.

In neighbouring Denmark, police urged motorists to avoid unnecessary trips as wind and snow battered the northern and western parts of the country.

In Finnish Lapland, the municipality of Enontekio, near the border with Norway and Sweden, recorded the country’s lowest temperature this winter on Thursday at minus 43.1 degrees C (minus 45.6 degrees F). Meteorologists are forecasting even colder temperatures for the rest of the week.

A ferry sailing between the capitals of Norway and Denmark finally docked in Copenhagen on Thursday after some 900 passengers spent the night aboard the vessel, which had been idling in the Oresund straight between Denmark and southern Sweden. On Wednesday, weather hampered the Crown Seaways vessel from sailing into the Copenhagen harbour.