''The main cause of the power cuts is the large volume of snow and ice on power lines, which have caused breakages in lines, and some pylons. A less significant factor is fallen trees and branches resulting from wind impact,'' said Jüri Klaassen, head of the Elektrilevi Control Centre.

Northern Estonia, plus the adjacent Jõgeva and Viljandi counties saw the majority of outages, Elektrilevi said.

''We have sent out maintenance units across Estonia and are sending more out. We are working to restore power as quickly as possible,'' Mr Klaassen said.

Elektrilevi is the major electricity grid provider in Estonia, with almost 475,000 customers supplied via 61,000 km of power lines and more than 22,000 substations. Some areas of the country, including Lääne County, Viimsi municipality and Narva city are supplied with electricity by other providers.

Most of the overnight snow, which reached as much as 5cm depth in some areas, should have melted by noon in western Estonia, though in the east of the country there will still be snow or rain, possibly into the evening. Temperatures are flutcuating around zero, as a low pressure area moves across Estonia from north-western Russia, and some road surfaces are icy.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning will see lower temperatures inland, though on Wednesday the same pattern of warmer temperatures in western regions, colder in the east, is set to continue, according to the met office.

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!