The Met Office has issued fresh weather warnings as Storm Goretti is set to bring heavy snow to the UK.
Storm Goretti, named by French meteorological service Meteo-France, is the first storm of the year and is likely to cause significant travel disruption in Britain, although France will be the most severely impacted.
The UK Met Office has now issued two amber weather warnings for Thursday evening ahead of the storm, including an amber wind warning for 80 to 90mph winds in Cornwall, meaning there will be a “danger to life” from large waves and debris.
Another amber warning will bring 10 to 15cm of snow, with the potential for 20 to 30cm in some locations, mainly on hills, especially in Wales and the Peak District.
Five yellow weather warnings for snow and ice cover other parts of the UK on Thursday, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Midlands, two more for rain in eastern England and Wales, and another for wind in the South West.
Mass cancellations to and from Amsterdam Schiphol airport are continuing for a sixth day due to snow and ice, with flights between the Dutch hub and UK airports on KLM cancelled. KLM grounded 600 flights to and from its hub on Wednesday.
British Airways has cancelled 10 flights linking Heathrow with Amsterdam, and a round-trip from London City airport.
Aberdeenshire Council also declared a “major incident” as ongoing snow continues to cause travel disruptions and school closures.
Wednesday’s weather warnings
Joint snow and ice warnings remain in place in the very north of Scotland all day on Wednesday, with another coming into force for the rest of Scotland from 10pm.
Icy patches on untreated wet surfaces are expected, which could lead to minor disruption.
Thursday’s weather warnings
The Met Office has issued two amber and eight yellow weather warnings across the country on Thursday.
Northern Ireland will see a yellow ice warning in place from midnight on Wednesday to 10am on Thursday, with temperatures expected to fall rapidly and bring an ice risk overnight.
Snow and ice are likely to cause further disruption overnight on Wednesday through to Thursday morning for Scotland, as the Met Office has extended a yellow weather warning until 12pm.
A yellow wind warning is in place across the southwest of England and Wales as a deep area of low pressure will move across the south of the UK during Thursday and into Friday, bringing a mixture of rain, snow and strong winds. The warning is in place from 3pm until midnight.
Three yellow weather warnings for snow will be in place across Wales, the southeast and west of England, and the Midlands on Thursday from 5pm and 8pm. Storm Goretti will likely bring heavy snow over higher ground in south Wales. In some areas, 5 to 10cm of snow may settle with the potential for up to 20cm in some locations, especially over higher ground. Strong winds may lead to some drifting of snow.
Later in the evening, an amber warning for heavy snow from 8pm will cover parts of Wales, the Midlands and South Yorkshire.
The snowfall, brought by Storm Goretti, will mean trains and planes could be delayed or cancelled, rural communities may be cut off, and power cuts or disruption to mobile signals are likely, forecasters said. The warning stretches from Sheffield in the North, down to Leicester, across much of the West Midlands and into Wales.
An amber wind weather warning is in place over Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly on Thursday from 5pm to 11pm as the forecaster warned there may be a “danger to life” from large waves and debris being thrown onto beachfront roads and properties.
Storm Goretti may bring a short period of exceptionally strong northwesterly winds to the Isles of Scilly and parts of Cornwall on Thursday evening, with peak gusts potentially of 80 to 90mph in exposed areas.
Two yellow weather warnings for rain are in place from midday in south Wales and eastern England from 6pm.
Friday’s weather warnings
Storm Goretti is set to continue into Friday with the amber “danger to life” warning for snow still in place in the Midlands, Wales and the South West until 9am.
Five other yellow weather warnings are also in place. A wind warning in the South West and Wales ends at 6am. One for rain in south Wales ends at 10am, but another for rain in the East will not end until 9pm.
A yellow warning for snow in the South West ends at 9am and another across large areas of the UK, including the Midlands, Wales, the North East and the North West, will be over by midday.
Cold health alert extended until Sunday
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber cold health alerts for all of England until Sunday at 12pm, warning there could be significant impacts across health and social care services, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: “As the colder weather sets in, it is vital to check in on friends, family and neighbours that are most vulnerable.
“The forecast temperatures can have a serious impact on the health of some people, leading to increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections, particularly for individuals over the age of 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions.”
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, though rain and strong winds also have the potential to bring disruption to many.
“Goretti will bring snow on its northern edge, this most likely over Wales and the Midlands. Here accumulations of 5-10 cm are likely widely, with 15-25 cm in some places, especially hills, and perhaps up to 30 cm very locally. An Amber warning has been issued where the greatest risk of disruption is likely on Thursday night into Friday morning, though updates may be required as confidence increases in the exact track of Storm Goretti.”
Travel disruption
Hundreds of schools in northern Scotland will remain closed for a third day as much of the country braces itself for further snow and icy conditions. Some rural areas have been completely cut off, and transport is severely affected by the weather.
Pupils in the Highlands were due to return from the festive break on Wednesday, but many will have an extra day off with more than 120 schools shut due to the weather conditions.
The snowy conditions disrupted road, air and rail travel across the country – with some train lines shut after heavy snow drifted onto the tracks.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has listed 24 travel disruptions as heavy snow continues to cause disruption to its services across northern Scotland.
While Network Rail advised that the line north of Edinburgh has reopened, LNER said “customers should NOT TRAVEL between Edinburgh and Aberdeen” as trains may be “delayed, cancelled or altered at short notice and/or experience overcrowding”.
Police Scotland said the impact of the snow is likely to be felt over the next few days in the north and northeast of Scotland, urging people to follow travel advice.
Assistant chief constable Alan Waddell said: “Local resilience partnerships are continuing to meet to co-ordinate and deliver the response to disruption experienced by communities in the north and northeast of Scotland following heavy snowfall over the weekend.
“We have been working closely with resilience partners across local authorities, other emergency service partners, transport partners, NHS and health and social care partnerships, and other local organisations to support communities affected by adverse weather and keep public services open where possible.
“Some services may be impacted by adverse weather and I would encourage the public to check on neighbours or relatives, if they are able to do so safely.”
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