Fierce winds battered France and Britain on Friday, January 9th as Storm Goretti barrelled through northern Europe, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of households in plunging winter temperatures.
Forecasters from Britain to Germany urged people to stay inside as they issued weather warnings, including the rare, highest-level red wind alert for Britain’s county Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, in southwestern England.
In France, some 380,000 households lost power, the vast majority in the northern Normandy region, according to the Enedis power provider, while the BBC reported some 65,000 households lost electricity in Britain.
Authorities registered overnight wind gusts of 216 and 213 kilometres per hour in France’s northwestern Manche region.
Gusts of up to 160 kilometres per hour were expected in parts of Britain and “very large waves will bring dangerous conditions to coastal areas,” according to Britain’s Met Office.
The UK’s National Rail has said train services will be affected over the next two days, and called on people to avoid travel unless necessary.
Europe’s current extreme weather conditions have caused at least eight deaths.
In Germany, heavy snow and winds in the north were set to affect schools, hospitals, and transport links.
Long-distance trains were halted in northern Germany and services were also affected in other parts of the country.
