Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power as Storm Goretti battered the UK last night with winds of nearly 100mph.
Brits are facing travel chaos on Friday morning with major airports grounded, roads blocked and rail lines closed.
Birmingham Airport was forced to shut overnight due to heavy snow on the runway, while Heathrow cancelled dozens of flights due to severe weather.
The Midlands was bracing for the ‘worst snow in a decade’ with 30cm expected to fall.
In an update this morning, Birmingham Airport said it was carrying out safety checks, with passengers advised to check the status of their flights before travelling.
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.
Brits living in Cornwall and the surrounding areas received a government alert on their phones, warning them of a danger to life due to high winds.
A number of weather warnings remain in place across the country this morning, including an amber alert for snow across Wales, the Midlands and into northern England.
Official snow depths on Friday show 16cm fell in Lake Vernwy in Powys overnight and 8cm in Nottingham.
The sky turns pink during snowfall in the Small Heath area of Birmingham early this morning
People attempt to push a car stuck in the snow in Buxton, Peak District, Derbyshire, on Thursday night
A truck struggles at a road junction in the town of Mossley in Tameside, Greater Manchester
Weather warnings are in place across the UK for Friday as Storm Goretti continues to cause chaos
Birmingham Airport, pictured on Thursday night, confirmed it suspended use of its runway operations due to ‘heavy snow’
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.
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.
Hundreds of schools are also expected to be closed on Friday, with dozens in the Midlands and Wales announcing they will not open in the amber weather warning area.
Almost 100 schools in Cornwall closed early on Thursday ahead of the arrival of the storm.
More than 250 schools are due to remain closed in Scotland on Friday, meaning many pupils are yet to return from the festive break.
A man crosses the road on a steep road in the town of Mossley in Tameside, Greater Manchester.
Hundreds of schools are also expected to be closed on Friday, with dozens in the Midlands and Wales announcing they will not open in the amber weather warning area
The storm, named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, has been described as a ‘multi-hazard event’ by the Met Office
In a statement issued at 5am this morning, East Midlands Airport said its runway was closed ‘due to heavy snowfall’ and urged passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information.
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’.
A fallen tree blocks a road after Storm Goretti hit Falmouth, Cornwall
There was significant disruption near Dowlais in Wales in the evening, causing chaos for motorists
Vehicles struggle at a road junction in the town of Mossley in Tameside, Greater Manchester
Damage to cars near Falmouth Docks, Cornwall, on Thursday due to Storm Goretti
A man’s umbrella is turned upside down by the wind in Walsall on Thursday night
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.
A yellow warning issued by the Met Office for snow and ice is also in force across much of Scotland.
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.
