Storm Goretti Blasts Europe With Extreme Winds, Snow After A Week Of Wintry Weather

Satellite view of Storm Goretti, centered over southwestern
England in this satellite photo. After a week of wintry
European weather, this storm is causing winds gusting
to 100 mph in spots, heavy snow and other dangers. 

 While we here in Vermont get a brief break from hard core winter, the nasty cold of the Arctic has shifted into Europe for awhile. 

Stormy, cold and often snowy weather has engulfed much of western Europe. As of Wednesday, six deaths had been reported as the rough weather continued to intensify. 

The latest problem is Storm Goretti, which has evolved into a rapidly intensifying "bomb cyclone."  It's causing, and in other areas threatening to cause damaging winds and deep snows in the United Kingdom and other areas of western Europe. 

The British Met Office, which is the government meteorological agency has issued a red severe weather warning, its more dire alert, for the Isle of Scilly and Cornwall, were wind gusts of 100 mph are expected. 

Winds have already gusted to 99 mph at St. Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, which is a new record for the site

Gusts to 60 mph were expected across the rest of southern England and parts of southwestern Wales. Up to a foot of snow might fall on higher elevations in Wales and the Peak District. 

Forecasters warned of roof, tree and power line damage, along with large, battering waves along the coast. 

France's northwestern Manche District, which borders the English Channel is also expecting gusts to 100 mph. 

Schools were closed and people were told not to drive as the storm tears through northern France. 

Storm Goretti will then make its way to Germany and surrounding nations by tomorrow. Parts of Germany are expecting six inches of snow in the north, and icy weather in the south. Schools win swaths of Germany are closed Friday. 

BEFORE GORETTI

Even before this storm, western Europe's weather took a sharp turn to winter harshness as the new year of 2026 clicked in.

Amsterdams's Schiphol Airport, one of the busiest airline hubs in Europe had more than 500 flights canceled on Wednesday. More than 1,000 people had to spend the night in the terminal. At least it was better than what would happen in the U.S.  Schiphol airport staff set up camp beds and provided breakfast to people who couldn't immediately leave. 

The bad weather extended into France where more than 100 flights at the Charles de Gaulle Airport were canceled on Wednesday. Bus served in Paris was suspended due to icy roads. 

 In England, there had already been some notable weather related road crashes even before the worst of the weather arrived. A bus in Kent ended up in a ditch and a school bus full of kids crashed into another bus in Reading. It doesn't look like there were serious injuries. 

In Rome, weeks of cold rain that have swollen the Tiber River over its banks again muted Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas-time celebrations. St. Peter’s Square was only partially full Tuesday as a few thousand people crowded under colorful umbrellas to hear Leo deliver his Epiphany blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Rome has been soaked by steady rains since before Christmas, and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri issued an ordinance for Tuesday limiting public access to parks and other areas at risk for falling trees and flooding.

In Sarajevo, Bosnia, a woman was killed when a large, snow-laden branch fell on her. 

The weather has even disrupted parts of Scandinavia, which is more used to rough winter weather compared to other western European nations. 

Heavy snow disrupted travel in western Sweden. Finnish diesel buses aren't starting in the morning because it's been so cold.

Contributing to this rough weather is still an Arctic or Greenland block, which tends to suppress winter cold air into the mid-latitudes of North America, Europe and Asia.  Parts of the United States were affected by this a little over a week ago. Then the cold weather sloshed to Europe in the past week.

To give you a sense of how topsy-turvy this weather pattern is, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute said the part of Norway that was above freezing was the normally super frigid Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.  

Svalbard is far north of mainland Norway, well north of the Arctic Circle  and is at about the same latitude as north-central Greenland.

Although the Greenland block does not appear ready to break down, it appears the frigid weather will tend to move away from western Europe next week and head once again toward North America.