Storm Goretti tore across northern Europe on Friday, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and bringing rail and air travel to a standstill as violent winds and heavy snowfall compounded an already brutal winter week.
France was among the hardest hit, with around 380,000 homes losing power, mainly in Normandy and Brittany. Winds exceeded 150 kph in parts of the northwest, forcing rail operator SNCF to suspend services between Paris and the coast. The storm also knocked out a high-voltage line serving the Flamanville nuclear plant, temporarily taking two reactors offline.
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In Britain, tens of thousands of households lost electricity overnight, particularly in Scotland and central England. Rail operators urged passengers not to travel, schools closed across several regions, and emergency crews responded to fallen trees and damaged buildings as the storm pushed east.
Disruption spread into Germany and the Netherlands, where long-distance trains were halted and dozens of flights were cancelled at major hubs including Hamburg and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Officials in Germany described the conditions as among the most severe winter weather events seen in years.
Further south and east, the storm's knock-on effects were felt across central and southeastern Europe, with motorists stranded by snow, flooding reported in Albania, and powerful winds damaging buildings in Turkey, underscoring the breadth and intensity of Goretti's impact as it swept across the continent.