Storms ranging from strong winds to snow and freezing temperatures were set to hit Europe on Thursday with the arrival of Storm Goretti, with weather warnings from the UK to Germany.
The UK Met Office has issued a red wind warning for the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall, the highest level of warning.
Extremely strong winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour are expected, with a warning that “very large waves will bring dangerous conditions to coastal areas”.
An orange snow warning has also been issued for Wales, the Midlands and parts of northern England, with up to 30cm of snow forecast in some areas. British National Rail said two train services would be affected for the next two days and urged people to avoid travel unless essential.
So far, there have been no announcements about disruptions in air traffic from London. France is also bracing for Storm Goretti, which will bring gusts of up to 100 miles per hour to the northern Channel department. In this country, 380,000 homes remained without electricity.
Schools there will remain closed on Friday and weather warnings have been issued in 30 other northwestern regions.
– Seek shelter and do not use your vehicle – warned the prefecture of Manche on platform X, urging residents to prepare emergency lighting and supplies of drinking water.
In Germany, heavy snow and northerly winds are expected to hit schools, hospitals and transport links. Up to 15 centimeters of snow could fall in the north, while there is a risk of ice in the south, according to the German Meteorological Service (DWD).
Temperatures could drop to -20 degrees in some areas this weekend, DWD meteorologist Andreas Walter said.
Some areas announced school closures on Friday, including the northern cities of Hamburg and Bremen. In Hamburg, the weather has already caused delays and cancellations on public transport on Thursday.
National rail company Deutsche Bahn warned of significant delays in the coming days and mobilized more than 14,000 employees to clear snow from tracks and platforms. The DWD says the storm is expected to last through Saturday, with the snowfall ending Monday.
Walter said the storm was an exception compared to the last few years of milder winters, which are due to climate change.
– It is still possible to have a cold month with snow, even as temperatures rise due to climate change, but such events will become rarer in the future – he said.
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, meanwhile, said only one region in Norway had temperatures above freezing on Thursday, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
