Summer is chilly in Europe

VIENNA - Snowball fights in July. Mulled wine instead of wine coolers. Thermostats set on high. Spring has come and gone, fall approaches - and Europeans are still waiting for summer.

Much of the continent awoke to another day of chilly temperatures and rain Thursday, adding to the weeks of miserable weather gripping Europe from Scandinavia to the Balkans.

On Thursday, the mercury dipped to 46 degrees in Stockholm. Midsummer shivers were felt elsewhere: Temperatures dropped to 50 in Geneva, 51 in Budapest, 53 in Warsaw and 52 in Copenhagen.

And this on a continent that had feared a recurrence of last summer's deadly heat.

This year's May was fitful, and June promised a summer that could go either way. But except for southern Europe, July has been wet and almost glacial.

On many days, temperatures have been half that of last year, when the mercury sat at 95 degrees or higher, resulting in crowded swimming pools, record ice cream sales and stores emptied of fans and air conditioners. About 15,000 people died in France.

Meteorologists say the comparison with last summer is misleading because 2003 was unusually hot and dry.

"It's a little cooler than it should be, but it's not too bad," said Vienna weatherman Ernst Rudel, describing the rains sweeping Austria as "a little more precipitation than normal."

But the wacky weather has in some areas led to virtual winter in July.

Instead of hiking, tourists in Germany's Bavarian Alps have worked up a sweat with snowball fights and sleigh rides after snowfalls that dusted peaks and valleys.

In Germany's Thuringia forest, guests recently gathered for an open-air theater performance clasped icy fingers around cups of mulled wine usually served at ski parties. The regional tourist office said cool temperatures and two weeks of rain have hit tourism hard.

The July cold snap prompted British Gas to put its winter emergency contingency plan into operation to meet a surge in demand as people turned on central heating.

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