Red and amber weather warnings have been issued across the UK as Storm Goretti, the first named storm of 2026, evolves into a ‘weather bomb’. The Met Office warns of up to 30cm of snow in Wales and the Midlands, and winds of up to 100mph in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
A rare red warning for dangerous winds is in place for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, where gusts of 99mph were recorded at St Mary’s airport—a new site record. An emergency alert was sent to mobile phones in the Isles of Scilly at 3pm and in Cornwall at 5pm. The storm is expected to be more powerful than Storm Ciarán in 2023 and the Great Storm of 1987.
The Met Office described Storm Goretti as a ‘multi-hazard event’. A weather bomb occurs when central pressure drops by more than 24 millibars in 24 hours; Goretti is expected to drop by 36 millibars between Wednesday and Thursday evening. Heavy snow has already forced Birmingham Airport to suspend runway operations.
More than 47,000 properties in the south-west were without power by 9pm, with 5,000 in the West Midlands and 2,000 in Wales. National Grid advised keeping torches and charged phones ready. Rail services have been cancelled across Wales, Cornwall, and north-west England, while Jersey and Guernsey airports will close at 6pm. Amber cold weather health alerts are in place until 11 January, with officials expecting a rise in deaths, particularly among the elderly.
The worst weather is expected overnight, with the storm waning on Friday. Warnings stretch from Sheffield to Leicester, across the West Midlands and most of Wales, in force from 8pm Thursday to 9am Friday. Yellow warnings for wind, snow, and rain cover much of England and Wales.
