CHERBOURG, France – Fierce winds have pummelled France and Britain as storms barrelled through northern Europe on Friday, snarling train travel, shutting schools and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes amid plunging winter temperatures.
Forecasters from Britain to Germany urged people to stay inside as they issued weather warnings, including the rare, highest-level red wind alert for the British Isles of Scilly and Cornwall in southwestern England.
Widespread power outages
In France, Storm Goretti cut power to some 380 000 homes, most of them in the northern Normandy region, according to power provider Enedis. Britain’s National Grid reported that 42 000 homes lost electricity in southwest England, with thousands more affected elsewhere.
Overnight, gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour were registered in France’s northwestern Manche region, authorities said. The winds felled trees in several regions, with at least one crashing onto residential buildings in France’s Seine-Maritime region, though no injuries were reported.
Gusts of up to 160 kph lashed England and Wales, with the Met Office forecasting agency warning that “very large waves will bring dangerous conditions to coastal areas”. The agency also issued an amber snow warning for Wales, central England and parts of northern England, predicting snowfall of up to 30 centimetres in some areas.
Transport and schools affected
The UK’s National Rail said train services would be affected over the next two days and called on people to avoid travel unless necessary.
Schools remained shut in parts of northern France, where weather alerts have been issued in 30 regions. “Take shelter and do not use your vehicle,” Manche police warned on social media, urging residents to prepare emergency supplies.
Giant waves crashed over harbour walls across France’s far northwest overnight, and as the storm moved eastwards it brought flooding and forced the closure of roads and ports including Dieppe.
In Scotland, hundreds of schools remained shut for the fifth day, with many pupils not yet returning to the classroom after their Christmas holidays.
Northern Germany faced severe disruption from heavy snow and high winds brought by another storm called Elli, with schools ordered closed in Hamburg and Bremen and long-distance rail services cancelled across the north. Up to 15 centimetres of snow could fall in the north, with a risk of icy conditions in the south, according to the German Weather Service.
Transport in Russia was also hit by wintry weather, with some 300 flights in the Moscow region cancelled as workers battled to clear runways and de-ice aircraft.
Deadly week across Europe
At least eight people have died in weather-related accidents this week across Europe, the latest being a man whose body was pulled from floodwater in the Albanian city of Durres on Thursday following days of heavy snow and torrential rain across the Balkans.
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The German Weather Service said the storm was expected to last until Saturday, with snowfall stopping on Monday. A meteorologist described the storm as exceptional in the context of recent milder winters, noting that while cold months with snow remain possible despite climate change, “such events will become rarer in the future”.
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