Winter storm slams UK, France as cold snap spreads across Europe

LONDON — Thousands of homes and businesses across northern France and southern England were without power Friday morning and residents faced widespread travel delays after a storm swept in off the Atlantic, bringing high winds, rain and snow to the region.

The low-pressure system, named Storm Goretti, pummeled the Isles of Scilly overnight, with wind gusts up to 99 mph (159 kph) recorded in the archipelago off the southwestern tip of England. Local government officials reported blocked roads, unstable buildings and power outages that left some people without water.

More than 57,000 were without power across southwestern England, the Midlands and Wales, according to National Grid, which runs the country’s electricity transmission network.

As the storm moved across the United Kingdom, it collided with an existing mass of Arctic air, bringing snow to northern areas and heavy rain to the south.

That extended the misery in northern Scotland, where snowplows have been working overtime to keep roads open after more than a half-meter (around 20 inches) of snow fell earlier in the week. More than 250 schools across Scotland were closed on Friday, with some remaining shut for a fifth straight day.

National Rail warned people across the U.K. to check before traveling, because the storm had disrupted services across England, Scotland and Wales. Birmingham Airport, which closed briefly because of snow, said that it had reopened with “reduced runway operations.”

The disruptions came after the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service, issued a rare red weather warning — its highest — in southwestern England for Thursday evening.

Red warnings are issued when the forecaster considers it “very likely” that there will be life-threatening conditions.