Polar blast across Europe sends temperatures plunging as low as -33 degrees

Friday, 9 January 2026 12:18

Arctic conditions have sparked public safety warnings and travel disruption amid freezing temperatures across the continent.

Britain and Europe have been gripped by a giant Arctic storm, triggering public safety alerts and transport chaos as temperatures plunge to -33C degrees in some parts.

The UK Met Office, the country's national meteorological agency issued a rare top-level red alert late on Thursday (Friday AEDT) for south-west England.

It also sent out a yellow alert for heavy snow and rain in northern England, Wales and the Midlands, with falls of up to 30cm expected in some areas.

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Weather forecasters warned Storm Goretti sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean would bring "violent gusts" of up to 160km/h in the county of Cornwall and the isolated Scilly Isles.

Residents are being warned to expect damage to buildings and homes, school closures, flying debris and power outages.

Meanwhile, several airports have been closed and flights cancelled due to the severe weather.

Birmingham Airport in the English Midlands suspended the use of its runway due to heavy snow, while the Channel Island of Jersey and Guernsey closed their airports.

Train travel has been severely impacted, with all services in Cornwall cancelled.

"This multi-hazard event will bring significant disruption to many," said Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office.

"This is a complex spell of severe weather."

Europe bracing for storm impact

Storm Goretti is expected to sweep into north-west Europe after it leaves the shores of the UK.

This week many countries have recorded frigid temperatures, snow and ice.

The severe weather disrupted services at one of the continent's biggest airports - Schiphol in the Netherlands, causing the cancellation of about 700 flights.

French media also reported disruption at a major airport.

Heavy snow forced the cancellation of about 100 flights at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and a further 40 at the French city's smaller Orly hub on Wednesday, reports France24.

In the far north of Europe, the mercury plunged below -30 degrees.

The Finnish Meteorological Service recorded a mid-week temperature in northern Finland of -33 degrees.