Heavy snowfall in the French Alps left some 15,000 drivers stranded overnight into Sunday, forcing many to pass the night in their cars and prompting officials to open emergency shelters. The snow and ice hit as a rush of holidaymakers were heading to and leaving from ski resorts in the Savoie region in southeastern France, where authorities set up shelters in at least 12 towns. The snow, freezing rain and icy conditions caused the death of a 27-year-old man whose car slid into a ravine in the Belledonne mountain range. France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in a statement urged drivers "to exercise the utmost caution" and asked those who could delay their trips to do so. The country declared an orange weather alert -- one step under the maximum red alert -- in 19 regional departments.
