Storm Goretti brought blackouts, grounded flights and rail chaos across northern Europe as snow, wind and freezing weather battered the region
HAMBURG: Storm Goretti brought widespread disruption across northern Europe on Friday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes, grounding flights and paralysing rail services amid gale-force winds and heavy snow. The extreme weather added to a week of freezing conditions across the region.
After first slamming into the UK on Thursday, Storm Goretti moved east across France, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond, triggering alerts and emergency responses. In France, nearly 380,000 households lost electricity, particularly in Normandy and Brittany, though 60,000 were reconnected by midday. Winds reached 213 kph in Barfleur, prompting SNCF to suspend train services between Paris and Normandy. France’s EDF also reported taking two reactors offline at Flamanville due to damaged high-voltage lines.
In the UK, about 60,000 homes in Scotland and central England lost power, while parts of the West Midlands saw rail services suspended under a thick blanket of snow. Residents were advised to stay indoors where possible.
In Germany, the storm was described as one of the most severe weather events in years. The state-owned Deutsche Bahn halted all long-distance trains in northern regions. At Hamburg Airport, around 40 flights were cancelled, while Volkswagen closed its Wolfsburg plant early and kept its Emden site closed for the day. A top-flight Bundesliga football match in Hamburg was postponed due to unsafe conditions.
In the Netherlands, KLM cancelled 80 flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, where hundreds of flights had already been disrupted earlier in the week. Heavy snowfall was forecast to return after a brief lull.
Elsewhere, Hungary deployed military units to rescue stranded motorists, while Balkan countries faced road closures and power outages. In Albania, one death was reported amid widespread flooding. Northeastern Türkiye saw roofs ripped off by powerful winds.
Storm Goretti also impacted Western Europe’s power markets, with wholesale electricity prices surging due to energy supply disruptions. Emergency repair teams worked across multiple countries as weather services warned of continued snowfall and wind through the weekend.
Authorities across affected regions urged people to monitor official advisories and minimise non-essential travel until the storm subsides.
