The worst snowfall in a decade in parts of the UK led to travel chaos, school closures and widespread power cuts on Friday as Storm Goretti hit northern Europe.
It brought winds of up to almost 160kph, along with heavy rain and snow as it moved across the continent.
Storm Goretti, named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, gathered energy as low pressure deepened after crossing from warmer to cooler Atlantic waters and steered towards the English Channel, said Alex Burkill, a meteorologist with the UK Met Office.
The Met Office described Storm Goretti as a “multi-hazard event”.
German airline Lufthansa cancelled some European flights, and Hamburg Airport has restricted flights to clear snow from runways.
British Airways cancelled 25 departures and 27 arrivals scheduled to operate at London’s Heathrow Airport on Friday. The vast majority of affected flights were on short-haul routes.
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A car crushed by fallen trees in Falmouth, England. Getty Images -
Waves crash on the coast in San Sebastian, Spain. EPA -
A firefighter works on a broken roof near Barfleur, north-western France. AFP -
An overturned van near Blackwater, Cornwall. PA -
Council workers clear fallen trees from a road after Storm Goretti passed through in Falmouth, in Cornwall, south-west England. Getty Images -
A huge wave crashes on the harbor at Le Conquet, north-west France. AFP -
Workers clear a road in Banville, north-west France, after Goretti passed. AFP -
An officer at the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, in Cornwall, south-west England, monitors Storm Goretti. Getty Images -
A fallen tree blocks a road in Falmouth, south-west England. Getty Images -
Gylly Beach Cafe in Falmouth was among businesses to stay closed due to Storm Goretti. Getty Images
Birmingham Airport closed its runway but resumed processing passengers through security.
At East Midlands Airport, officials said the runway had reopened after being closed overnight due to heavy snow. Passengers were warned that some delays may continue throughout the day.
Officials in the West Midlands warned of the “worst snowfall in a decade” as parts of England and Wales prepared to be hit with 5cm to 10cm of snow, and 15cm to 25cm in some areas.
Rail services across England, Wales and Scotland may be affected until the end of the day on Friday due to the weather, National Rail said.
West Midlands Railway warned customers not to travel until at least Friday afternoon, while London Northwestern Railway said all morning services between Birmingham and Liverpool Lime St were suspended.
South-west England, the Channel Islands and northern France were expected to bear the brunt of the storm.
Ferry operator DFDS said all its sailings between Dover and France were disrupted.
Red alerts have been issued for Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and the French department of Manche, where wind are expected to be the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane. Winds reached a record 216kph in the Manche, Meteo France reported.
The storm petered out in the English Channel but "strong winds are still present in northern France and the Ile-de-France region", said Col Alexandre Jouassard, spokesman for Civil Security in France. "We must remain vigilant," he added, after two people were hurt because of fallen trees.
At least 380,000 homes were left without power in France, mostly in Normandy. In 2023, Storm Ciaran left close to 1.2 million homes without electricity.
Another record was reached at St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly on Thursday, with winds of almost 160kph, the Met Office said.
French rail operator SNCF suspended services in Normandy from Thursday evening through to Friday due to high winds. Several train lines were also closed in Brittany.
Amber warnings have also been issued for 20 other French departments, as well as for central England and parts of Wales.
Germany has issued red alerts in parts of the north − with as much as 20cm of snow forecast for some areas. Amber snow and wind warnings were also been issued the Netherlands.
The region is already reeling from an Arctic blast that brought plunging temperatures and soaring heating demand. This week, about 1,000 passengers were stranded at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after the freezing weather led to critical shortages of aircraft de-icing fluid.
AirFrance-KLM has replenished stockpiles of the fluid at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, but German aviation group BDL said shortages of de-icing equipment and personnel were adding to delays and cancellations across Europe.
More than 43,000 properties were without power in the south-west of England at 6am on Friday, the National Grid’s website said, while about 14,000 had no power in the West Midlands and 530 in Wales.
Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: “Storm Goretti will be a multi-hazard event, with the most significant impacts from snow in parts of Wales and the Midlands and the very strong winds in the far south-west, though heavy rain in some parts of Wales and East Anglia also has the potential to bring disruption to many.”
