UK braced for heavy snow as cold weather snap in Europe persists

Britain, already in the midst of one of its coldest and longest cold snaps in years, is set to endure heavy snowfall and strong winds later Thursday that weather authorities have warned could bring a risk to life.

The brunt of the storm coming in from the Atlantic is set to be felt in central England, with as much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow falling in just a few hours, which inevitably will have potential implications for schools, travel and commerce, particularly in more rural areas.

Storm Goretti, which has been named by the French weather service France Meteo, is expected to leave Britain’s shores by late Friday before further impacting other parts of northwest Europe, which have already endured snow, ice and freezing temperatures in recent days.

Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office, Britain’s national meteorological service, described Goretti as a “multi-hazard event” with heavy rain, strong winds and snow.

The Met Office has issued amber warnings for many parts of the U.K. These have an “increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather” compared to the lower yellow warnings, meaning there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, flight cancellations, power cuts and potential risk to life and property.

The snowfall will mean trains and planes could be delayed or cancelled, rural communities may be cut off, and power cuts and disruption to mobile signal are likely.

Amber cold weather health alerts have also been extended by the U.K. Health Security Agency for all regions of England until Jan. 12, which means severe impacts across health and social care services are expected. Officials expect a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, with impacts also possible on younger age groups.

Many parts of Wales, northern England and Scotland have been blanketed with snow over the past few days that has led to numerous school closures and travel disruption.

In the Netherlands, the bad weather eased on Thursday, helping Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which saw hundreds of flights canceled on each of the first three days of the working week, trying to return to normal. However, it was briefly hit by a power outage in the morning.

Dutch national carrier KLM said there were still long lines of passengers at the airport but added that it was “doing everything possible to ensure departing passengers leave on time.”