‘Worst snowfall in a decade’ leaves thousands without power and shuts major airport

Tens of thousands of people are waking up to power cuts, travel disruption and school closures after Storm Goretti brought the ‘worst snowfall in a decade’.

The Met Office had issued a rare ‘red’ weather warning for ‘dangerous, stormy’ winds with gusts of nearly 100mph in some areas.

Birmingham Airport suspended operations overnight because of heavy snowfall on the runway, while Heathrow has cancelled dozens of flights due to the severe conditions.

More than 43,000 properties were without power in the South West at 6am on Friday, according to the National Grid’s website, with people in Cornwall told to work from after all trains were suspended.

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 its runway has reopened with a reduced service but urged passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

It said: ‘Our runway has reopened on a reduced basis, and our teams are working to get passengers away as efficiently as possible.

‘Whilst we apologise for any inconvenience Storm Goretti has caused, the safety of our colleagues and customers is our number one priority.

‘Passengers due to travel are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline.’

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.

No rail replacement road transport is being provided because of ‘uncertain road conditions’, it added.

Avanti West Coast said ‘do not travel’ advice is in place on its Midlands routes until 1pm on Friday.

The train operator, which runs services on the West Coast Main Line, said: ‘An amended timetable will operate across all routes from 0700 until 1500, when we currently expect services to return to normal.

‘We strongly recommend travelling outside these times if possible.’

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.

Ferry operator DFDS said all its sailings between Dover and France are disrupted.

It said: ‘All services are currently operating with delays due to strong winds in the Channel.

‘Please check-in as normal, we will transfer all passengers onto the first available sailing on arrival.

‘Apologies for any inconvenience caused.’

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’.

Fresh weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued by the Met Office for much of Scotland and the north of England on Sunday.

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.

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