Storm Goretti in the United Kingdom and France, snowstorm Elli in Germany: part of Europe – where there is a cold snap – faces new bad weather on Friday, after very strong gusts of wind and significant power cuts.
This Goretti depression will also bring us a good gust of wind in Switzerland. Moist air will also flow towards our regions in the coming days and the snowfall limit will drop below 1000m this Friday then in the plains on Saturday and it will sometimes snow heavily in the mountains. More lasting improvement in sight for next week.
In France, 380,000 homes were without electricity at 6 a.m. on Friday, announced network manager Enedis. Gusts approaching 160 km/h also swept across the southwest of England and Wales, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power, felling trees and disrupting travel.
In France, the majority of interventions in the thirty or so departments affected by violent winds concerned falling trees, torn roofs or falling power lines. No serious casualties from bad weather were recorded by the French authorities in the first reports on Friday morning.
A gust at 213 km/h
A gust of 213km/ha was recorded overnight in the Manche department, placed on red alert for a time and where schools will be closed on Friday. The port of Dieppe was closed due to rising water levels, under the effect of the storm which also caused “significant flooding” in Étretat and Fécamp, according to the prefecture.
No major damage was reported in other departments in the first reports Friday morning but the authorities are calling for people to continue to limit travel and exercise caution on the roads.
In Ile-de-France, bad weather has caused falling trees which disrupt train traffic.
With its “exceptional” wind gusts, according to the British meteorological agency (Met office), Storm Goretti, accompanied by snowfall, has been sweeping the United Kingdom since the end of the day on Thursday. The Met Office has issued a rare red alert for strong winds, the highest level, for the Isles of Scilly and much of Cornwall.
Watch out for the waves!
According to the BBC, 65,000 homes were deprived of electricity, particularly in this region, due to the storm. In total, the red alert concerns around half a million people. The Met Office also warned that “very large waves will make some coastal areas very dangerous”.
Train operations in south-west Cornwall were suspended on Thursday evening and are expected to remain affected for two days, according to the national railway company.
-20°C expected in Germany
In Germany, several northern cities, including Hamburg and Bremen, planned to close schools on Friday due to the passage of storm Elli, which is accompanied by snow and strong winds. The continent’s leading car manufacturer, Volkswagen, will also close its Emden site on Friday, where 8,000 workers work, Christian Schiebold, spokesperson for the group, announced to AFP.
The storm is expected to sweep across the entire country, particularly affecting the north and northeast, where up to 15 centimeters of snow is expected. This precipitation will be accompanied by sustained gusts, favoring the formation of snowdrifts, piles of snow shaped by the wind, according to the National Meteorological Service (DWD).
Minimum temperatures are expected to drop this weekend to -10°C, or even down to -20°C locally, according to the DWD.
The daily “Bild” reported hospitals saturated by the influx of patients suffering from falls on icy roads, as well as severe disruptions to public transport and the road network around Hamburg.
The railway company Deutsche Bahn anticipates significant disruptions to rail traffic in the coming days. More than 14,000 employees are mobilized to clear snow and de-ice from platforms and tracks, said the company, which is suspending long-distance trains in northern Germany.
The episode is exceptional, compared to the last mild winters in Germany, which are “the consequence of global warming”, explains Andreas Walter, meteorologist at DWD, to AFP.
