The man, aged 53, was killed when the plough fell down some steps in a "residential complex" in the northern city of Linz, police said.

Up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) of white stuff had fallen on the Alpine nation since Thursday, prompting an avalanche alert for southeast Austria, in the region around the city of Graz.

Vienna airport said it was forced to temporarily halt all flights in the morning, and afternoon services were "disrupted".

The main highway south of Vienna was closed for several hours, and other sections of highway were blocked by snowdrifts, stranded lorries or poor visibility, said the national automobile association, OAMTC.

Electric companies reported power outages in several regions in the south and east, including Styria, where 30,000 homes lost electricity.

In neighbouring Slovenia, 40,000 households were affected, according to local media, which reported major disruption's in the country's northeast.