Weather LIVE: Storm Goretti danger ‘not over yet’ with cars crushed as flood alerts issued

Tens of thousands of Brits are facing widespread power cuts, travel disruption and school closures with weather warnings for snow and ice across the country. Two airports stopped a number of flights with Storm Goretti bringing up to 30cm of snow. Dozens of flights have been delayed or cancelled including from London Heathrow and Birmingham airports due to the weather conditions.[1][2] It comes as the wild, wintry weather brought 99mph winds while a rare red warning was issued by the Met Office for "dangerous, stormy" winds in the South West.

And today the weather agency says Storm Goretti "continues to cause problems" as a mixture of rain, sleet and snow batters some areas.

14:26KEY EVENT

More flood warnings issued

More flood warnings have been issued, with a further 104 alerts given. Flood warnings are now in place in 14 places, the Environment Agency confirmed. It means flooding is expected, while the 'alerts' describe the chances as 'possible.'

Check your area here.[3] The 14 flood warnings:

Alfriston on the Cuckmere River
Barcombe Mills on the River Ouse
Climping
Gog Brook at Warwick
North Sea coast at Bridlington - Harbour Road and Floral Pavilion
Pevensey seafront
River Alne at Chapel Lane and Church Lane in Aston Cantlow and Great Alne
River Arrow and River Alne at Alcester and Oversley Mill
River Beult from Bethersden and Pluckley to Stile Bridge
River Dene at Walton
Ruskington Beck in Ruskington
South Hayling and South Eastoke seafront
Swaton Eau in Swaton Village

13:55Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Power 'may not be restored in homes until Sunday'

People's power might not be restored until Sunday, a local MP has warned. Thousands of homes in Cornwall have been cut off, with National Grid confirming 41,000 premises currently have no power.

"It is expected that properties across Mid Cornwall will be facing electricity issues until Sunday," Noah Law, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said on social media.

Power is still out for thousands (Getty Images)12:51Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Shipping containers go overboard

A number of shipping containers have fallen from vessels off the Isle of Wight. According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, refrigerated containers have gone overboard from two cargo vessels due to choppy waters. An MCA spokesman said HM Coastguard is "monitoring the situation closely and has sent a fixed-wing aircraft".

12:37Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Horror pictures show tree crushing student's car

Images show the extent of the fierce storm that has battered Britain over the past 24 hours.

Falmouth University student Anna Richmond's car was crushed outside her rented accommodation by fallen trees during Storm Goretti. The worst of the strong winds came in the south west, with forecasters warning that danger is not yet over.

A student's car was destroyed (Getty Images)12:24Tim Hanlon

Student finds car crushed by tree outside accommodation

Trees have come down with roads blocked and tens of thousands of properties are without power across Cornwall in the wake of Storm Goretti. Falmouth University student Anna Richmond's car which was crushed outside her rented accommodation by fallen trees during Storm Goretti.

It happened with a rare red weather warning in place by the Met Office for the south west of England with winds reaching 99mph.

Anna Richmond inspects the damage to her car (Getty Images)12:11Tim Hanlon

Overnight lows of -13.3C with 27cm of snow recorded as falling in one area

Met Office says 27cm of snow has fallen in Scotland and the coldest temperature overnight was -13.3C. The national weather agency also said that the peak gust from Storm Goretti was 99mph. It stated: "Storm Goretti has been an impactful weather system, with significant disruption and impacts reported so far.

A peak gust of 99mph was reported at St Marys on the Isles of Scilly, the highest here since 1991. "Accumulations of snow have also been reported, 15cm has been recorded at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, 7cm at Preston Montford in Shropshire and 7cm at Nottingham. Wider accumulations have been recorded, as well as some higher unofficial totals from non-Met Office observations.

"Notable snow accumulations continue in Scotland, with 27cm at Altnaharra in Sutherland, 26cm at Loch Glascarnoch and 22cm at Durris in Kincardineshire. The lowest temperature recorded overnight was -13.3?C at Braemar, Aberdeenshire."

Storm Goretti has now cleared to the east. The storm brought a gust of 99mph at St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly, and 16cm of snow at Lake Vyrnwy in Wales pic.twitter.com/r83TfoeSEA [4]

-- Met Office (@metoffice) January 9, 2026 [5]11:54Tim Hanlon

Full list of venues closed in West Midlands as Storm Goretti brings heavy snow and ice

Birmingham has yellow warnings for snow and ice in place and is one of the areas worst affected by Storm Goretti today.

And latest closures announced due to snow in the region include: Birmingham Botanical Gardens, West Midlands Safari Park, Cadbury World, Legoland and Sea Life Centre. Legoland posted: "Important Notice: Due to Storm Goretti and severe weather conditions, we are closed today for the safety of our guests and staff." Here is the full list of venues closed in the region:

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Thinktank Science Museum in Birmingham city centre
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park at Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston
Lapworth Museum of Geology in Edgbaston
Dudley Zoo in Dudley
Wild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton
Ash End Children's Farm in Tamworth (the big barn is still open)
Shakespeare Birthplace Museums in Stratford-upon-Avon
Young Voices at BP Pulse Live at the NEC
Twycross Zoo in Atherstone
Bodenham Arboretum, near Kidderminster
Car parks at Sandwell Valley Country Park
Hockerhill Play Barn in Brewood, Staffordshire
Wightwick Manor and Gardens in Wolverhampton
Kingstanding Wellbeing Centre swimming sessions cancelled and site closing at 6pm
Warwick Castle (closed for essential maintenance until January 17)
Clent Hills (Nimmings Wood car park closed)
Dudmaston and Comer Woods
Birmingham Back to Backs closed until Thursday, February 5
Moseley Old Hall closed until Friday, February 13
Packwood House in Solihull
Baddelsey Clinton in Solihull
Carding Mill Valley on the Long Mynd
Attingham Park in Shrewsbury
Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire
Coventry Charterhouse

11:45Tim Hanlon

Tens of thousands of homes without power as Storm Goretti continues to batter UK

More than 44,000 properties are now without power in the South West, according to the National Grid's website.

There are also about 14,000 that have no power in the West Midlands, more than 700 with no power in the East Midlands and more than 500 without power in Wales. While as of 8am, 147,983 properties had been restored across the South West, Midlands and South Wales.

11:27Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Storm Goretti 'continues to cause problems'

Storm Goretti will "continue to cause problems" today as it targets other parts of Europe, the Met Office said. Meteorologist Alex Deakin said the storm will begin clear throughout the afternoon but many will face a "wet, cold, miserable day".

He said: "Storm Goretti continues to cause problems through Friday morning, particularly across parts of eastern England, where we are seeing a mixture of rain, sleet, and still some snow falling. "The heavy snow over the West Midlands and Wales has now eased but of course, is still lying on the floor and still causing some disruption. "Gradually, through the day, the storm will continue to clear away, but it's going to still be a wet, cold miserable day across much of eastern England, and still icy across parts of northern Britain as well."

Storm Goretti continues to batter the UK (PA)11:02Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Flood alerts put in place for London

Flood alerts have been issued for London and the south east.

Heavy rain brought by Storm Goretti means river levels remain high. The Environment Agency says further rainfall could lead to flooding of low-lying land, roads and footpaths in affected areas. The flood alerts currently in place:

Chertsey Bourne
Lower River Medway
River Bourne from Hadlow to East Peckham
River Darent from Westerham to Dartford
River Mole and its tributaries, from Kinnersley Manor to South Hersham
Rivers Eden and Eden Brook
The Rivers Wid and Can
Upper River Colne and Radlett Brook

10:56Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Dozens more flights cancelled

More flights in and out of Heathrow airport have been grounded.

At least 69 flights scheduled to operate to or from London on Friday are cancelled as Storm Goretti rages. This is likely to have disrupted more than 9,000 passengers. The majority of the cancellations are short-haul flights by British Airways, which is the largest airline at Heathrow.

10:50Sam Elliott-Gibbs

'My home was hit by Storm Goretti...
I've never seen weather as wild as this'

A resident left without power has shared their experience of being caught in the midst of the storm. Perrin Hooper, 24, who has a following of 396,000 on social media, filmed themselves saying: "The storm last night was wild. "I hope everyone's okay... any of my fellow Cornwall people."

Sharing the video at 7:50am on Friday, Perrin revealed: "I've got no power, we've got no power and there are trees down everywhere. "There were 123mph winds somewhere near us, I believe. But I must say, they've done a very good job of getting the power back up pretty quickly for most areas.

So well done." Read the full story here.[6]

@persworld I've never seen weather like that, hoping everyone is okay and make sure to check in on anyone you know in Cornwall who is vulnerable and you loved ones! #stormgoretti #cornwall #storm #uk #redweatherwarning original sound - Perrin Hooper [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]10:39Sam Elliott-Gibbs

In pictures: Morning snow arrives as hundreds of schools shut

Millions woke up to snow this morning after overnight wintry showers. Tens of thousands of homes are without power with fresh weather warnings issued this morning.

Some have been out enjoying the snow with hundreds of schools again closed.

A young boy enjoys the snow in Harbourne, Birmingham (Anita Maric / SWNS)

09:51KEY EVENT

Met Office issue more weather warnings

Further weather warning have now been issued for tomorrow. The Met Office has announced a Yellow snow and ice warning for Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Midlands. The region will be approached by wintry showers, which are predicted to start impacting the area on Friday at around 5pm before clearing at 11am on Saturday.

A Yellow ice warning covers parts of East Midlands, London and South East England, North West England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber. A Met Office forecast said: "Clear spells on Friday evening and overnight will allow temperatures to quickly fall below freezing, leading to the development of icy stretches, especially on untreated surfaces. A scattering of wintry showers are also expected, these falling as snow over hills above 200 m, where further small accumulations of 1 to 3 cm are possible in a few places."

09:48Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Incredible view of the storm

A BBC weather map shows the storm's path overnight.

Goretti crossed the UK overnight and is expected to hit other parts of Europe within hours.

Incredible view of #StormGORETTI [14] as it crossed the UK overnight. Strongest winds. wrapped around the hook, brought a record gust to the Isles of Scilly of 99mph. Good news is that the worst of the weather is over as Goretti moves into Central Europe @BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/nzDJq1bcor [15][16]

-- Matt Taylor (@MetMattTaylor) January 9, 2026 [17]09:25Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Around 65,000 homes without power

Approaching 65,000 homes across England and Wales are currently without power, according to the National Grid.

Most of the properties are in south west England, where a total of 47,592 are cut off. The Met Office warned "violent gusts" hitting Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, bringing a potential danger to life. Winds of 99mph have already been recorded at St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, which is a new record for the site, the forecaster said.

Storm Goretti has caused chaos (Getty Images)09:12Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Video shows force of wind

A social media video lays bare the incredible force of the wind as Storm Goretti swirls.

The clip, taken this morning at Hayle train station in west Cornwall, sees the sky flash as lightning strikes. The storm is hitting the UK and schools have already decided to close with winds of up to 100mph predicted in some areas.

Absolutely exceptional force of wind from #StormGoretti - easily without doubt, recency bias or excitement - the most violent wind gusts I've ever experienced. Constant power flashes in the first hour, many in the distance and then eventually over Hayle with the power going. pic.twitter.com/8BVnpPRiJX [18][19]

-- Official Weather UK (@Official_WXUK) January 8, 2026 [20]09:00Sam Elliott-Gibbs

M1 issues ease after lorry crash

All lanes on a busy motorway have now reopened following an early morning lorry crash.

The incident occurred on the M1 northbound between junction 28 Mansfield and junction 29 Chesterfield following a lorry crash in the early hours of Friday morning, January 9.

An update from National Highways says: "All lanes have re-opened on the #M1 northbound between J28 #Mansfield and J29 #Chesterfield following a collision involving a lorry. "Please allow extra time for your journey and take extra care due to the weather conditions this morning, please have a safe journey."

08:52KEY EVENT

New Met Office alert for 11 areas

The Met Office has announced a Yellow snow and ice warning for several regions across the UK for Sunday. The warning is covering parts of Central, Tayside and Fife, East Midlands, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, North East England, North West England, Orkney and Shetland, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, Strathclyde, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber.

Snow will settle over the regions. The snowfall is predicted to arrive across the areas on Sunday at around 2am, and it will continue snowing until 3pm.

08:41Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Storm Garetti turns sky purple

Storm Garetti turned the sky an eery shade of purple overnight. X-users were left stunned by the sight of Birmingham rendered in mauve posted on social media by several early morning walkers.

One took a video from King's Heath, leaving people stunned by the shade of the sky.

Birmingham storm #Goretti, colour of the sky around #SmallHeath it looks amazing, how is it possible?, pic.twitter.com/q2dts8oogc [21][22][23]

-- Javed Iqbal (@javed2275) January 8, 2026 [24]08:31Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Snow forces closure of dozens of schools

Children are missing school for a fifth day in parts of the country due to snow forcing further closures. As Storm Goretti continues to sweep the country, pupils are being told. to stay home. More than 250 schools are due to remain closed on Friday with the Met Office anticipating up to 30cm of snow in central England where an amber warning remains in place.

See the full list here [25]

It's another snow day for thousands of kids (PA)08:17Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Trees crash into cars as rescue workers rush to help

Pictures show the devastation of Storm Goretti as trees smash into cars across Cornwall. The fearsome winds struck St Austell overnight, with people waking up to discover the damage.

A car hit by a tree in Cornwall (Paul Williams / SWNS)

08:06KEY EVENT

BA cancel dozens of flights

British Airways has cancelled 25 departures and 27 arrivals scheduled to operate at London Heathrow today. The vast majority of affected flights were on short-haul routes.

It comes after East Midlands Airport said its runway was closed due to heavy snowfall and urged passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information.

07:55Sam Elliott-Gibbs

National Rail issue new warning

National Rail has told passengers they should expect disruption to services across England, Wales and Scotland until late tonight. West Midlands Railway has warned customers not to travel until Friday afternoon at the earliest as problems continue. All morning services have been suspended between Birmingham and Liverpool Lime Street, London Northwestern Railway announced.

Travel is tricky by train too (ANP/Shutterstock)07:38Sam Elliott-Gibbs

More travel issues by sea

Those travelling between Dover and France today to prepare for disruption.

Ferry Operator DFDS is warning delays are expected throughout the day as people head to France for the weekend. "All services are currently operating with delays due to strong winds in the channel" a social media update read. It advises passengers to "please check-in as normal, we will transfer all passengers onto the first available sailing on arrival."

06:18Olivia Beeson

M1 closed as winter fleet en route to remove snow

A major UK motorway is facing closures as snow settles.

The M1 northbound is shut between junction 28 Mansfield and junction 29 Chesterfield. A lorry crash has occurred and snow is settling on the closed lanes. National Highways are reporting 40 minutes of congestion.

M1 road closure due to snow (Motorway Cameras )05:40KEY EVENT

Second airport closes due to heavy snow

Following the closure of Birmingham Airport, East Midlands airport has also shut due to heavy snowfall.

Arrivals and departures have been delayed and cancelled due to the weather conditions. Jet2.com, Ryanair and TUI Airways services to and from East Midlands Airport are expected to be affected by the halt.

Snow at East Midlands Airport04:18Olivia Beeson

Trees falling on roads as storm causes further travel chaos

Storm Goretti is causing travel chaos across Cornwall with trees falling down and roads being blocked. A large number of trees are currently blocking the A30 causing disruption in the early hours of Friday morning, January 9.

The road is shut in both directions between the A394 Longrock and the A3074 St Erth.

04:00Olivia Beeson

What is a red weather warning?

A red weather warning is in place in some places until 11pm; which says that people should expect lots of disruption. The weather could cause damage to buildings and homes, very large waves, flying debris resulting in danger to life, power cuts and public transport cancellations. The Met Office's description of a red warning on its website reads: "It is very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure.

"You should avoid travelling, where possible, and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities."

03:54Olivia Beeson

Cars stranded on roads as heavy snowfall continues

Significant snowfall is wreaking havoc on motorways across the country, with cars becoming trapped on a major route during the night. Traffic on a busy route between the West Midlands and Leicestershire is being severely affected as the harsh winter weather is creating extensive hold-ups on the A42. According to Leicestershire Live [26] the A42 southbound is closed between junction 14 Tonge and junction 13 Ashby-De-La-Zouch.

There are currently delays of up to an hour on the approach as traffic officers are on scene.

Winter vehicles are also on their way to assist the stranded cars.

References

^ Storm Goretti bringing up to 30cm of snow. (www.mirror.co.uk)
^ weather conditions. (www.mirror.co.uk)
^ Check your area here. (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk)
^ pic.twitter.com/r83TfoeSEA (t.co)
^ January 9, 2026 (twitter.com)
^ Read the full story here. (www.mirror.co.uk)
^ @persworld (www.tiktok.com)
^ stormgoretti (www.tiktok.com)
^ cornwall (www.tiktok.com)
^ storm (www.tiktok.com)
^ uk (www.tiktok.com)
^ redweatherwarning (www.tiktok.com)
^ original sound - Perrin Hooper (www.tiktok.com)
^ #StormGORETTI (twitter.com)
^ @BBCBreakfast (twitter.com)
^ pic.twitter.com/nzDJq1bcor (t.co)
^ January 9, 2026 (twitter.com)
^ #StormGoretti (twitter.com)
^ pic.twitter.com/8BVnpPRiJX (t.co)
^ January 8, 2026 (twitter.com)
^ #Goretti (twitter.com)
^ #SmallHeath (twitter.com)
^ pic.twitter.com/q2dts8oogc (t.co)
^ January 8, 2026 (twitter.com)
^ See the full list here (www.mirror.co.uk)
^ Leicestershire Live (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)