Storm Goretti live: UK to be hit by heavy snow with amber warnings issued for ice and wind

Arctic air has plunged much of the country into sub-zero temperatures following the turn of the year, with temperatures falling to as low as -12.5 in Norfolk, while many northern regions have been blanketed in heavy snow.

The treacherous conditions, which have caused major disruption to transport services, have triggered amber cold health alerts and a warning from health secretary Wes Streeting that hospitals were coming under intense pressure.

The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

Nearly 700 more flights have been cancelled on Wednesday at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, where snow, ice and high winds have wrecked schedules – especially for the Dutch airline KLM – for the past six days. On Wednesday, more than 100 links with the UK have been grounded.

Daniel Gustafsson of the flight-tracking website Flightradar24 says: “While Schiphol certainly can operate during winter weather, the airport’s de-icing infrastructure obviously isn’t designed to handle a barrage of snow for multiple days in a row.”

He warns of a “critical shortage” of de-icing fluid “that threatens to halt operations entirely”.

Mr Gustafsson writes: “Even a thin layer of ice on a wing can significantly affect lift which is why all critical surfaces of an aircraft must be completely free of snow and ice before takeoff. KLM operates a fleet of 25 de-icing trucks at Schiphol and is responsible for de-icing not only its own fleet but most aircraft at the airport. KLM’s de-icing teams have been using approximately 85,000 liters of fluid per day since Friday. This is extraordinary, leading to supplies depleting faster than they have been replenished.”

There is also a strictly finite time between when the aircraft is sprayed and take-off. “This window is referred to as holdover time,” he writes. “If an aircraft can’t depart within this crucial time window it must return for re-treatment.”

He adds that the potential “network domino effect” of a snarl-up at Amsterdam has led some airlines to cancel flights rather than risking an aircraft being stuck at Schiphol.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended amber cold health alerts for England as an early warning that adverse temperatures are likely to affect health and wellbeing, running until Sunday.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: “As the colder weather sets in, it is vital to check in on friends, family and neighbours that are most vulnerable.

“The forecast temperatures can have a serious impact on the health of some people, leading to increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections, particularly for individuals over the age of 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions.”

You can check whether your postcode is covered and if you are eligible for a cold weather payment here:

A village in Aberdeenshire has seen 30cm (just under 1ft) of snow in what the locals are calling “one of the worst winters in 25 years”.

Doug Griffin, 58, has lived in Insch, Aberdeenshire for 25 years, and said the weather conditions are “remarkable” and “exceptional” and the storm has caused the village to be cut off.

He said that while residents are used to snow, the drifts on Wednesday were currently 30cm (just under 12in) deep, and had been higher on Tuesday before they thawed.

Mr Griffin, a father-of-two who works from home for the North Sea Transition Authority, said that on Tuesday the drifts had been around 50cm deep.

He said that a snow plough had cleared the entrance to the local Co-Op, which he photographed on Tuesday evening with piles of snow reaching almost to the roof.

The names of the fleet of gritters covering 400 miles of Scotland’s trunk roads have been decided by the Scottish public since 2020, and the vote has been gaining popularity with each passing year.

Highlights for this year include ‘Gritallica’, ‘Sled Zeppellin’ and ‘Skid Vicious’, as well as the James Bond-influenced ‘You Only Grit Ice’ and ‘Licence To Chill’. They follow on from previous Bond-themed gritters including ‘Coldfinger’, ‘On Her Majesty’s Slippery Surface’ and ‘Dr Snow’.

The names are available to view through the Traffic Scotland gritter tracker and this year’s team of gritters includes several hilarious cold-weather-themed names.

Entries from previous years also include ‘Gritney Spears’, ‘Keanu Freeze’ and ‘Sir David Attenbrrr’.

The UK is braced for heavy snowfall and strong winds from Storm Goretti with nine weather warnings issued across the country.

It comes after two buses full of school children crashed on icy roads on Wednesday.

Thursday will see a cloudy and cold start to the day with wintry weather as Storm Goretti, named by Meteo France, comes in from the south-west.

Met Office Meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “Storm Goretti is on its way, arriving later tomorrow and affecting us through tomorrow and into Friday, bringing some strong winds and some significant snow to central and perhaps southern parts.”

The meteorologist said the storm will bring “wet, windy and wintry weather” to parts of the UK.

“As that rain pushes its way and it hits against that cold air that we currently have across us… and so on the northern edge, we are likely to see some fairly significant snow as we go through later tomorrow and into Friday,” he added.

A “good Samaritan” farmer came to the rescue of a couple, who were snowed in at their home in Aberdeenshire, by clearing their driveway for 20 minutes.

Graeme and Melanie Stewart, both 63, moved to Alford in Aberdeenshire around 18 months ago.

They began clearing the snow by shovel on Wednesday, a job which they expected to take three hours to complete, before a neighbouring stranger offered to help move the snow with his tractor.

Dr Stewart thanked the farming community for their collective efforts saving the day as the roads nearby would have been impassable if not for their help.

He said “It hasn’t stopped snowing since New Year’s Day. I have never seen it like this. I think its persistence has taken us by surprise, this has been remorseless.”

The snow reached about 4ft deep around the villages and has been blowing into drifts of around 6ft or 7ft.

While some smaller shops in the village are still being supplied, he explained that the transport problems had meant others have “ground to a halt”.

Dr Stewart works as a hospital consultant, and said medical services had been badly impacted and carers were having to walk to their appointments in the local area.

He added: “The whole thing has been chaotic, we are lucky in the village because people go the extra mile. I have been very impressed by the community spirit up here.”