Tens of thousands without power as Storm Goretti wreaks havoc across UK
Storm Goretti continues to batter the UK with tens of thousands of Britons across the country facing widespread power cuts, travel disruption and school closures.
It comes after the wild, wintry weather brought 99mph winds while a rare red warning was issued by the Met Office for “dangerous, stormy” winds in the South West.
More than 43,000 properties were without power in the South West at 6am on Friday, according to the National Grid’s website, while about 14,000 had no power in the West Midlands and 530 were without power in Wales.
More than 450 addresses in the East Midlands were also without power heading into Friday morning, with National Grid telling customers in the south west of England that it was aiming to have services restored by 8am.
In a statement issued just after 6am, East Midlands Airport said its runway had reopened after being closed overnight due to heavy snow on the runway.
Passengers were warned delays may linger throughout the day.
Birmingham Airport said at 5.20am on Friday it was completing safety checks after operations were suspended overnight because of heavy snow on the runway.
Winds of 99mph were recorded at St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly on Thursday, which is a new record for the site, the Met Office said.
All trains in Cornwall were suspended from 6pm on Thursday, Network Rail said.
In Devon, trains on the Exeter-Okehampton and Exeter-Barnstaple routes were suspended from the same time because of forecast high-wind speeds.
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 have been suspended.
National Highways said the A30 in Cornwall is closed in both directions between the A394 at Longrock and the A3074 at St Erth “due to a large number of trees that have fallen and are blocking the road”, with Devon and Cornwall Police assisting at the scene.
The storm, named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, has been described as a “multi-hazard event” by the Met Office, with as much as 30cm of snow possible in parts of the UK.
Weather warnings were issued for snow, wind, rain and ice across the country, ahead of likely “disruption and dangerous travelling conditions”.
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.”
A yellow warning for wind has been issued for the rest of the south coast and Wales, where gusts of up to 70mph are forecast, while a yellow warning for snow covers swathes of England from Bath to Northumberland.
Meanwhile, an amber warning for snow runs until 9am on Friday covering parts of Wales, the Midlands and Yorkshire.
About 10 to 15cm of snow is likely across the warning area, with up to 30cm on higher ground in Wales and the Peak District.
Dozens of schools across the Midlands and Wales have announced they will be closed on Friday where the amber weather warning has been issued.
A yellow warning for snow and ice is also in force across much of Scotland, where more than 250 schools are due to remain closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, plus a number in Moray.
The red warning, which was in place until 11pm on Thursday, warned of damage to buildings and homes, very large waves, flying debris resulting in danger to life, power cuts and public transport cancellations.
The Met Office’s website says amber weather warnings are issued when there is an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather, including the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.
Yellow warnings are issued for a range of weather situations, including when it is likely that the weather will cause some low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places, or when the weather could bring much more severe impacts to the majority of people but the certainty of those impacts occurring is much lower, according to the Met Office.
Published: by Radio NewsHub