Posted at 1:00 PM ET, 12/10/2010

Snow and record traffic hits Paris, France

By Jason Samenow

Snow at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Source: Associated Press

More than four inches of snow fell in Paris, France Wednesday, the heaviest single-day snow there since 1987.

The snow closed the Eiffel Tower and, for 90 minutes Wednesday, Charles de Gaulle airport. According to the French Tribune, around a thousand stranded travelers spent the night at the airport.

The snow also severely disrupted traffic and shut down bus service. CNN reported: "The resulting traffic jams set a new record. According to the National Center for Highway Information, snarled traffic lined 420 kilometers of roadways around the capital."

See this video of the snow (h/t Paul Douglas):

The Huffington Post has a striking gallery of snow photos from Paris.

The Parisian snow is the latest extreme winter weather event to impact Europe. As we reported last week, London has also experienced unusually cold and snowy weather.

Check out the satellite image below from NASA showing the snow cover over the United Kingdom. It has melted in London, but remains to the north.