A shepherd leads his flock through a street in Zakopane, Poland, after heavy snow. The unseasonable weather killed at least four Poles and cut power and heating to hundreds of thousands of homes in Central Europe.
Three people, including a shepherd, froze to death in the mountains of southern Poland and a man died when his car was blown off the road in the north of the country.
In northeastern parts of the Czech Republic roads and railway lines were blocked by fallen trees after strong winds and snow about 50cm (20in) deep in the mountains.
Meteorologists said that snow flurries were not uncommon in Poland in October, but the conditions had been unexpectedly severe this week.
