Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

We are going to be bringing an end to our coverage of Storm Goretti and the aftermath of the strong gusts of wind which battered much of the UK - and also parts of mainland Europe.

The first named storm of 2026 brought heavy snow in parts of England, Scotland and Wales. Violent winds were recorded in the South West of England - where gusts reached up to 99mph at St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly.

Throughout the day we have heard your stories - from the storm ripping the roof off a home in Cornwall to a man being rushed to hospital in Guernsey after being hit in the face by flying debris.

Fallen trees, heavy snow and stranded vehicles have made it difficult for the National Grid's teams to reach some areas to carry out repairs safely - but at least 170,000 properties have had power restored.

Work continues to restore power to a further 44,000 properties - mainly in the Midlands, South West and Wales - with extra engineers being drafted in to finish the repairs.

Across the English Channel, about 320,000 homes in France are experiencing power outages; while Dutch airline KLM - which has been forced to cancel flights in and out of Amsterdam for days - intends to run a full service on Saturday.

Back in the UK, yellow weather warnings for snow and ice remain in force going into the weekend for Scotland, the North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, Humber, London, Northern Ireland, Wales and the South West.

As we head into the weekend you can check the latest forecast in your area by heading to the BBC Weather page - and you can read this handy guide on how best to keep your home warm when budgets are squeezed.

Image source, Getty Images

As the Friday rush hour approaches, let's bring you the latest on the rail network:

• Train services between Sheffield and Manchester will not run as East Midlands Railway says it cannot run services along the Hope Valley line
• West Midlands Railway says it is unable to run any services at the moment; while London Northwestern Railway customers cannot travel between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street
• There is also a reduced service between Birmingham New Street and London Euston
• Chiltern Railways is operating a significantly reduced service - around 50% of its normal timetable
• Transport for Wales says the severe weather has impacted its services, forcing it to suspend a number of routes, including: Llandudno, Wrexham, Aberystwyth and Swansea.
• Until the end of the day, services between Carmathen and Cardiff Central; Shewsbury and Crewe; Gloucester and Cardiff Central; and Chester and Manchester will run one train per hour
• Great Western Railway says there are no services running between Plymouth and Penzance; Par and Newquay and between Truro and Falmouth
• Finally, Avanti West Coast customers are being advised that fewer trains are running on some routes due to the yellow weather warnings for snow and ice which have covered its network

Many train operators say there will be no rail replacement bus service due to road conditions being impacted by the weather.

Advice for all rail passengers is to check before they travel, and if they are able to postpone their journey until the weekend then there is a ticket acceptance in place.

It's safe to say that the polar bears at Highland Wildlife Park are fans of the cold weather that has hit Scotland in the wake of Storm Goretti.

“It’s amazing how differently the animals react to snow - some get really excited by it, while others barely seem to notice," says David Field, CEO of The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).

Field says the park's polar bears have been making snow angels in the snow, whilst its tigers and snow leopards have been trying to catch snowflakes.

All of the park's animals are adapted to cold weather, so none of them need to stay inside, says Field, but keepers have provided them with extra bedding and welfare checks.

"Some will just choose to spend a bit more time in their beds, tucked up cosy. Our wildcats are a great example of that, whereas I don’t think the bison have even noticed," he says.

"When parts of the park close like this because of bad weather, it’s usually for visitor safety rather than the animals. They can handle these conditions far better than any human can.”

Sophie Woodcock and Jenny Kumah
BBC News

Thirty-year old Tierren Brett, from Redruth, Cornwall, has described the moment he realised the roof of his cottage had blown away, whilst he was downstairs eating dinner with his partner and four-year old son.

“The loft hatch was flapping to start with...so I've come down and said, 'like, we've got a problem here, there’s a hole in the roof'," says Brett.

"And then before we know it, the whole roof was gone."

He says a massive gust of wind - "like when you open a front door and a back door" - managed to create "a huge wind tunnel”.

After taking his son to safety, he returned to the property in Four Lanes village to tackle the clear up which continued into today.

“It was just all hands-on deck," he says, describing how "loads of people" in the community, including family and friends, showed up instantly to lend a hand.

But the damage didn’t end there. Further down the street, loft insulation was left clinging to trees like Candi floss and slate tiles were scattered all over the road and surrounding properties.

Brett’s opposite neighbour, 42-year-old Lee Carne, had his car destroyed by bits of flying roof debris.

“I heard a bang and I thought it was all the wheelie bins coming through...but it was somebody's roof hitting my front door and my car," he says, adding that "there’s not much left of it”.

Brett says he feels lucky that no-one was hurt, and that they can stay with family until the damage is fixed.

“What a way to start the new year."

There are currently three weather warnings issued by the Met Office still in place:

• A yellow warning for snow and ice, covering Northern Ireland's entirety, came into force at 17:00 GMT and will remain in place until tomorrow at 11:00
• A yellow warning for ice is covering parts of the South West, Midlands, and northern England will remain until tomorrow at 12:00
• Ayellow warning for snow and ice, covering most of Scotland and north-east England, is in place until tomorrow at 15:00

Right now, these are the only weather warnings in place for tomorrow. But this can change if the Met Office provides new guidance.

Looking ahead to Sunday, the only warning currently in place is for between 02:00 and 15:00, when a yellow warning for snow and ice covering most of Scotland and northern England will come into force.

Image source, PA Media

The South West and Channel Islands:

• Earlier today, wind was still reaching 70mph (112 km/h) in the Channel Islands and 45-50mph (72-80km/h) in the South West of England. Winds on the Isles of Scilly's St Mary's Airport hit 99mph (1159km/h)
• There has been "severe devastation" across the region, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, who have been dealing with localised flooding and fallen trees
• Over 40,000 premises in the region have experienced power outages. We've also seen photos of overturned and damaged vehicles in the region

Midlands and south Wales:

• This is where the heaviest snow has appeared to be falling. Up to 15cm (5.9in) of snow was recorded at Lake Vyrnwy, Wales. Officials in the Midlands say they are bracing for up to 30cm (11in) of snowfall
• West Midlands Railway says it won't run replacement buses because of "uncertain road conditions"
• And more than 8,000 properties in the Midlands are still without power, according to the National Grid

Scotland:

• Overnight the temperature hit a low of -13.3C in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, while more than 10in (27cm) of snow has been recorded in Altnaharra, Sutherland
• ScotRail said a 10-mile stretch of the railway line between Adrgay and Lairg in the Highlands had been closed in both directions due to heavy snow
• Scotland's First Minister John Swinney says it has been a "really challenging period for everybody" in the region

Image source, Hugh Hastings/Getty Images

Katharine Sharpe
BBC News

Manchester to Cornwall is a long journey at the best of times, but it’s never taken me nearly 24 hours before.

I left Media City in Salford to travel down to my partner in Camborne at 17:00 last night. The train to London went without issue, but the second stage of an overnight bus to Cornwall was delayed by a few hours to a departure time of 03:00 - and then an hour later.

I was then informed that it would only go as far west as Plymouth. And all trains and buses west of Plymouth were cancelled.

At this point, the phrase ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ was doing some heavy work in my head as I tried to see the funny side of an already marathon journey somehow being upgraded to ultramarathon status.

Thankfully, my other half works half days on Fridays, so after a five-hour wait in Plymouth, he arrived as part of a three-hour round trip drive to rescue me just after midday.

We are now on the 90-minute journey back, more than 22 hours after I left Quay House.

The irony of the situation is that it’s a gorgeous and relatively calm day in Plymouth now - so I imagine the delay is due to the several trees on the line.

Image source, Cornish Pirates

The south-west of England has been particularly hard hit by Storm Goretti.

In an update on social media, Cornwall Council calls it "one of the most severe storms Cornwall has experienced in living memory".

This follows an earlier video update from the council leader, Leigh Frost, who said that more than 45,000 homes were without power but that the National Grid was working to restore it.

The scale of the damage means that clean-up operations will "likely take several days" he added.

Elsewhere, the roof on the main grandstand of the Cornish Pirates rugby team's stadium has been ripped off in places, after being hit by gusts of around 90 mph (144 km/h).

While the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) says that volunteers in Falmouth worked for three hours overnight to assist people in difficulty.

RNLI coxswain Nick Head has described the conditions as "very tricky", adding that "it was certainly the worst weather conditions I’ve been out in as coxswain".

Image source, Getty Images

Away from Scotland - where the environment agency says there is a potential for flooding this weekend - forecasters in other parts of the UK are issuing flood warnings as they say the combination of melting snow and rain puts it at increased risk in the coming days.

Twelve red flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - are currently in place across the Midlands, South West and one in Yorkshire.

A further 104 flood alerts - warning that flooding is possible - have been issued for huge swathes of England.

There are only five amber alerts across pockets of Wales, while Scotland has no official warnings in place.

Chris Fawkes
BBC Weather presenter

Widespread ice will develop tonight as temperatures plunge below freezing. Showers will continue with some snow for Scotland and the hills of north-east England, a few centimetres accumulating overnight for some.

Tomorrow is a brighter day with sunshine and showers. There will be a few more snow showers in Scotland and the hills of north-east England - but it will be another cold day with temperatures well below average.

Milder weather starts to push into the UK on Sunday with low pressure bringing wet and windy weather. As the rain bumps into the cold air there may be a spell of snow, in most places this won't last long before turning back to rain.

The snow will last longest in north-eastern areas, and especially over high ground, threatening some disruption for a time.

By the afternoon, temperatures in the south-west will reach 12C, but it will stay quite cold in the north-east.

The milder weather will move across the whole of the UK by Monday turning any remaining snowmen to carrots and puddles.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, we reported that the Met Office has issued new snow and ice warnings across the UK for this weekend.

Scotland and north-east England will have warnings in place until Sunday, but could also see a flood risk in days to come.

David Morgan, Flood Duty Manager at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), says: "As temperatures rise following recent cold conditions, thaw of lying snow from Sunday onwards will increase the risk of flooding."

This could lead to the flooding of low lying land, roads and individual properties, says Morgan.

The Met Office advises monitoring the risk of flooding through updates from Sepa for those in Scotland, and the Environment Agency for those in England.

Image source, Reuters

National Grid says teams "are making strong progress" in restoring power to properties affected by the storm.

Across the South West, Midlands and Wales - 169,380 properties have had power restored and extra engineers have been drafted in from other areas to speed up the remaining repairs.

The latest overview of premises without power - nearly 50,000 - according to National Grid, are:

• West Midlands: 7,239
• East Midlands: 847
• South West: 40,528
• Wales: 414

Mollie Perella and Georgia-Levy Collins
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Tia White

It’s a day of cleaning up for Tia White, 17, and her family in Cornwall after storm Goretti blew off her roof and chimney.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Tia says she was watching TV when she heard a bang at about 20:00 GMT on Thursday.

“We looked in the conservatory and the chimney had fallen off the top of the house onto the roof of the conservatory and smashed through,” she recalls.

At first, she says her family didn’t know the full extent of the damage and only realised the roof had caved in when they went upstairs to discover the panel of the attic entrance had fallen in, exposing the night sky above them.

“It went really smoky, it just smelt funny. We couldn't really tell that there was a hole,” she says.

Tia’s house is the first one when you enter her village in St Buryan near Land's End, and she feels it took the brunt of the impact of the weather.

Elsewhere in the village, she says there are trees down and damage in gardens.

“It's like, what do we do next? Who do we call? How do we get a roof back?” she asks.

However, Tia says the community has banded together amid the destruction.

“It's just really nice that everyone's come and helped out and supported us,” she says.

Image source, Tia White

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile on the other side of the Channel, about 320,000 homes are without power, according to French media outlet France Info, which is citing the electricity network operator Enedis.

Earlier this morning, it was reported that 380,000 homes were experiencing power outages across France.

The power cuts are mostly affecting Normandy, with 229,000 homes without power in the region, it says.

In a post on X, Enedis says that 3,000 technicians have been mobilised in the affected areas, who are working to restore power.

Image source, PA Media

If you want to make a journey by car:

• Traffic Scotland has reduced their snow and ice warnings across the country to ten - you can check the affected areas, external on their website
• Meanwhile, National Highways is still warning drivers to take extra care on the roads today, and to check ahead of setting out on journeys for disruption

If you're travelling by train:

• Birmingham New Street says it is looking to start a "limited timetable" from mid-afternoon today, with services to Rugby and Stafford, London Marylebone and Nuneaton/East Midlands now running
• Earlier, the railway operator West Midlands Railway had said all services were suspended until further notice
• Northern Rail has reopened lines between Chesterfield and Nottingham, and Huddersfield and Barnsley
• But Avanti West Coast says it is "advising customers not to travel" on the West Midlands route, due to heavy snowfall
• Chiltern Railways still says only half of its normal services are running today, and advises customers to check before travelling
• And East Midlands Railway says it has started to run services again, though it warns of ongoing delays and cancellations

We're seeing some more images now from Cornwall, where - as we reported earlier - many are still without power.

The severe winds that blew across Falmouth downed trees, and flattened some cars in the area - as you can see in the pictures below.

Image source, Hugh Hastings/Getty Images

Image source, Hugh Hastings/Getty Images

Our local reporters have been speaking to Aaron Ferbrache, who lives in St Peter Port, Guernsey. He was taken to A&E last night after being injured by flying debris.

Yesterday, the States of Guernsey advised people to stay indoors after Storm Goretti was declared a major incident, with strong winds and heavy rain forecast on the island.

Aaron says: "The flat roof came through my window straight at me, it was terrifying really.

"They've glued up all the cuts to stop the bleeding."

He was taken to a hotel after the apartments were evacuated.

Despite feeling awful today, Aaron says he is keen to get back home.

James Kelly
BBC News

Image source, Jonathan Smith

A man in the Isles of Scilly says Storm Goretti delivered an intense few hours of extreme weather that downed trees "like matchsticks".

Jonathan Smith - who runs an organic fruit and vegetable farm on St Martin's - says this caused the power to go off overnight, plunging much of the Isles into an eerie darkness.

He says many trees have fallen down in the area as the wind was "really howling" in the early evening yesterday.

"The power went off about 6pm I think. No water, electricity or phone."

Jonathan says power came back on at about 08:00 today, and he is now able to get phone signal - but only via a mast on mainland Britain.

Image source, PA Media

Power might not be restored to some homes in Cornwall until Sunday, a local MP says.

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

He adds that he's been in touch with National Grid.

Looking at individual incidents on the utility company's live power outage map, external, it appears that some of them are expected to be solved by Saturday, while others could run until Sunday.

About 41,000 premises are off supply in the South West as of 13:00 GMT, according to National Grid's website., external

"We give customers our best estimate for when their power will be back on," the National Grid said in a statement, adding that "these times might change if we face unexpected challenges getting to the fault".

"Our estimates show when the last person in the area will have power back, but many customers will be reconnected before this."