Winter storm slams UK, France
Thousands of homes and businesses across northern France and southern England were without power Friday morning and residents faced widespread travel delays after a storm swept in off the Atlantic, bringing high winds, rain and snow to the region. The low-pressure system, named Storm Goretti, pummelled the Isles of Scilly overnight with wind gusts up to 159 kph recorded in the archipelago off the southwestern tip of England.
Local Government officials reported blocked roads, unstable buildings and power outages that left some people without water. More than 57,000 were without power across southwestern England, the Midlands and Wales, according to National Grid, which runs the country’s electricity transmission network.
As the storm moved across the United Kingdom it collided with an existing mass of Arctic air, bringing snow to northern areas and heavy rain to the south. That extended the misery in northern Scotland, where snowplows have been working overtime to keep roads open after more than half a metre of snow fell earlier in the week. More than 250 schools across Scotland were closed on Friday, with some remaining shut for a fifth straight day.
National Rail warned people across the UK to check before travelling because the storm had disrupted services across England, Scotland and Wales. Birmingham Airport, which closed briefly due to snow, said had reopened with “reduced runway operations.” The disruptions came after the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service, issued a rare red weather warning — its highest — in southwestern England for Thursday evening.
Red warnings are issued when the forecaster considers it “very likely” there will be life-threatening conditions. Strong winds from Storm Goretti also battered northwestern France on Friday, knocking out power to about 380,000 homes, authorities said. No major damage was reported Friday morning.
Most of the outages were concentrated in the Normandy region, according to Enedis, the national power grid operator. France’s national weather service, Meteo-France, had issued weather warnings ahead of the storm, urging residents to remain home. An overnight wind gust of up to 213 kph was recorded in Gatteville-le-Phare in Normandy.
Regional train services were suspended across northwestern France, with disruptions expected to last at least until Friday afternoon. High-speed rail services were operating, and authorities said they anticipated minimal impact on flights at Paris airports. People cross the medieval Charles Bridge during a heavy snowfall in Prague, Czech Republic.
