As Storm Goretti swept across the United Kingdom this week, the country found itself in the grip of some of the most severe winter weather in recent memory. From 99 mph winds battering the southwest to heavy snow blanketing the Midlands and Yorkshire, millions have faced power outages, travel chaos, and widespread school closures. The Met Office’s rare red weather warning for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly may have ended, but on Friday, January 9, 2026, amber and yellow alerts for snow, wind, and ice remained in effect across vast swathes of England, Wales, and Scotland, according to BBC News.
For rail passengers hoping to travel between Sheffield and Manchester, the news was especially grim. TransPennine Express (TPE) announced on Thursday that it was closing the vital Hope Valley line ahead of the storm, citing the amber weather alert and the need to ensure “the safety of passengers and staff.” Rob Cox, operations director for TPE, told BBC Radio Sheffield there were “currently no services running between the two cities or intermediary stations along the Hope Valley line.” Instead, shuttle services were operating from Sheffield to the east and from Manchester to the west, with passengers needing to travel to the North West being advised to route via Leeds. Cox added, “We are monitoring the situation and doing what we can to clear the line so we can get trains running again.” For those unable to complete their planned journeys, compensation was available.
But the disruption did not stop there. As reported by The Independent, Network Rail urged passengers in the West Midlands not to travel at all on Friday morning, warning that “train services today are extremely limited as a result of the weather conditions and many routes are closed.” East Midlands Railway echoed this caution, strongly advising travelers to avoid journeys unless absolutely necessary. Nottingham was particularly hard hit, with routes to Sheffield, Norwich, and Lincoln all delayed. Avanti West Coast issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory for its Birmingham and Coventry to London Euston route, while Northern closed links across the Peak District until Saturday. CrossCountry and Great Western Railway trains were not running west of Plymouth into Cornwall, and Transport for Wales suspended numerous lines, including Birmingham International to Aberystwyth and all services west of Carmarthen.
Road conditions proved equally treacherous. Edmund King, president of the AA, described “pretty treacherous driving conditions this morning – particularly across Wales, the Midlands and north into Yorkshire.” He advised listeners on BBC Radio 5 Live, “If you can delay or avoid your journey, it will be much safer to do so.” Across the Midlands, some A-roads were nearly impassable due to heavy snow, while in Derbyshire, three lanes of the M1 were closed between junctions 28 and 29 because of an accident, resulting in long tailbacks. In mid-Wales, the A483 was closed between Crossgates and Newtown owing to unstable trees, and in Cornwall, fallen trees blocked the A30 between Penzance and Hayle. Traffic Scotland warned motorists in the Highlands to beware of ice, snow, reduced visibility, and even snow gate closures and abandoned vehicles.
The air and sea were not spared either. According to The Independent, fifty flights were cancelled on Friday morning at London Heathrow, including a dozen British Airways domestic departures and thirty European flights. Other airlines, such as Air France, Aer Lingus, KLM, and Scandinavian Airlines, grounded flights to their respective hubs. Birmingham Airport managed to reopen a runway at 8am after a 10-hour closure, but many planes had already been diverted or cancelled. Ferry services were similarly affected, with Irish Ferries and Stena Line cancelling early morning sailings between the UK and Ireland, and Brittany Ferries scrapping its Poole to Cherbourg route for the day.
Power outages added to the misery. As BBC News reported, more than 43,800 properties in southwest England, 16,000 in the West Midlands, and 462 in Wales were without power early Friday morning. At the peak of the storm on Thursday night, some 65,000 properties across the country had lost supply. The National Grid worked through the night to restore services, but many communities were left in the dark as strong winds and falling trees damaged infrastructure.
For schoolchildren, Storm Goretti meant an unexpected day off – or more. The Yorkshire Evening Post detailed how heavy snowfall led to the closure of numerous schools across West and South Yorkshire. In Kirklees, Hade Edge Junior and Infant schools, Castle Hill School, and Holmfirth’s junior, infant, and senior schools all shut their doors. In Barnsley, Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School, Thurlstone Primary School, Penistone St Johns Voluntary Aided Primary School, and Penistone Grammar School were fully closed for the day. Almost 100 schools in Cornwall closed early on Thursday, and more than 250 schools in Scotland remained closed on Friday. The BBC noted that dozens of schools in the Midlands and Wales also announced closures, particularly in the amber warning areas.
With the Met Office forecasting up to 30cm (11 inches) of snow in the Midlands – the worst in a decade, officials said – travel was badly affected and some communities risked being cut off. In Wales and the Peak District, the snow was expected to linger the longest, making some roads impassable and raising the risk of avalanches, especially on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), for which a specific warning was issued.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency issued amber cold health alerts for England, running until Monday, January 12, 2026. Over the past week, an Arctic blast had brought temperatures between 4 and 10°C below the January average. The government’s cold weather payments were triggered across at least 697 postcodes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, meaning that more than one million households would receive financial support to help cope with the chill.
Despite the severity of the storm, some found themselves in harrowing but ultimately lucky situations. One motorist, Gerard Cairney, told the BBC he was driving “very carefully” with his wife on the A887 to Edinburgh when a tree suddenly fell on their car. “It was quite unbelievable,” he said, recalling how the tree “bounced” off his bonnet. Fortunately, he was able to swerve and avoid serious damage, suffering only minor scratches to the paintwork.
As Storm Goretti’s snow and rain began to ease on Friday morning, the country faced the daunting task of recovery. With train lines blocked, roads impassable, flights cancelled, and thousands still without power, the impact of the storm will be felt for days to come. But as the UK has shown time and again, resilience and community spirit often shine brightest when the weather is at its worst.
