As Storm Goretti sweeps across the UK and pummels parts of the nation with wind, rain and snow, many local authorities in England and Wales activated or extended the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) in recent days – providing emergency accommodation to people sleeping rough who are at risk of harm or death.

The Mayor of London’s office announced on X that it had activated SWEP on Friday, the second time this year after activating it on 2 January.

It comes as the Manchester Evening News (MEN) reports that two people have died while sleeping rough in Manchester during recent cold weather – Michael Heaton, 26, who was found dead on 30 December, and Anthony Horn, 47, discovered on 26 December.

“Rough sleeping is extremely dangerous all year round, but a night spent in freezing temperatures or in the most extreme weather can be deadly,” Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at Crisis, told the Guardian. “It’s vital that people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets are helped into safe, emergency accommodation.”

“SWEP saves lives,” Albanese said, but she added that broader action was necessary to boost emergency accommodation throughout the year, as well as greater investment in building social housing and ensuring housing benefit is sufficient for people to cover existing housing costs.

More than 15,000 people experienced rough sleeping in 2024, according to Crisis, up from under 12,000 in 2022. Local Authorities aren’t legally required to activate SWEP, but it’s seen as a humanitarian duty during cold or extreme weather.

Meanwhile, the Salvation Army said in a press release: “We ask the public to also look out for rough sleepers and contact Streetlink – thestreetlink.org.uk – to let them know their location. If someone is in immediate danger, or if the person is under 18 years old, call 999.”

The Scottish environment agency has warned of a flooding risk in the days ahead.

David Morgan, flood duty manager at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), says:

As temperatures rise following recent cold conditions, thaw of lying snow from Sunday onwards will increase the risk of flooding.

Here are some more photos from across the UK as Storm Goretti continues to take hold:

Disruption on the roads also affected the criminal justice system, with no remand prisoners at all being transported to Birmingham Crown Court.

An aborted sentencing hearing for a HMP Birmingham inmate convicted of the attempted murder of his wife was told only six members of staff were on duty in the court’s cell block.

Judge Richard Bond informed barristers attending the hearing remotely: “I am really sorry we are in this position but the prison service have not produced anyone at Birmingham Crown Court today.”

The case was later adjourned to 6 February after the judge ruled a video-link appearance was not satisfactory, given the seriousness of the case and the need for an interpreter.

Employers have a duty of care to factor bad weather into risk assessments, resilience planning and business continuity, says Ruth Wilkinson of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Wilkinson told the PA news agency:

Snow, ice, and other severe weather are foreseeable hazards. Employers have a clear duty to protect health and safety, which means factoring bad weather into risk assessments, resilience planning, and business continuity.

This isn’t just about the office; it includes offsite work and travel. Can staff work safely? Can they work remotely? Policies, clear arrangements, and flexibility are essential.

Businesses need to monitor official weather guidance, plan ahead, and make sure everyone knows the procedures. Health and safety doesn’t stop at the office door – preparedness, clear communication, and a culture that prioritises people over logistics are what keep businesses moving safely.

Steve Willington, the Met Office’s chief forecaster, said more snow was possible on Sunday, after a “largely dry” Saturday away from north-eastern parts of Scotland and England.

A yellow warning for snow and ice will be in force for much of Scotland from 2am until 3pm on Sunday.

Willington said:

A further 2-5cm of snow is possible to accumulate at low levels within the warning area on Sunday, with 10-20cm possible over higher ground. With much of this falling in areas that have already seen severe snowfall, ongoing disruption is likely.

Those in central and southern England and Wales will see this fall as rain, in what will be a wet Sunday for many.

A yellow warning covering large parts of Scotland, the East and West Midlands, north-east and north-west England and Yorkshire will be in place from 2am until 3pm on Sunday.

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have been extended into Saturday for large parts of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.

A yellow warning for snow and ice comes into force from midday on Friday until 3pm on Saturday, with further snowfall possible across parts of northern England and much of Scotland, while a widespread risk of ice is expected to cause disruption.

A separate yellow warning for ice will cover large parts of England and Wales from midday on Friday until midday on Saturday as partially thawed snow refreezes, accompanied by wintry showers and freezing fog.

In Northern Ireland, a yellow warning for snow and ice will come into force from 5pm on Friday and run until 11am on Saturday, with the Met Office warning of icy patches and some hill snow.

Snow and ice will grip much of the UK over the weekend as the country is left reeling in parts from the effects of Storm Goretti, which left thousands of people facing power cuts, school closures and travel chaos.

The storm brought winds of nearly 100mph after forecasters issued a rare red warning for “dangerous, stormy” winds in the south-west.

Downing Street said support was being offered to homes left without power.

Forecasters recorded 15cm of snow at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, 7cm at Preston Montford in Shropshire and 7cm in Nottingham. Altnaharra, in Sutherland, recorded 27cm of snow, with 26cm at Loch Glascarnoch and 22cm at Durris in Kincardineshire.

The lowest temperature recorded overnight was -13.3C at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, while a peak gust of 99mph was reported at St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly, the highest recorded since 1991, according to the Met Office.

Below are some more weather-related images coming in via the newswires today:

Here are the latest figures on properties without power in the south-west of England: More than 40,000 properties were without power just before 2pm on Friday, according to the National Grid’s website.

Additionally, about 9,000 properties had no power in the West Midlands; more than 700 had no power in the East Midlands; and more than 200 were without power in Wales.

Extra engineers have been brought in from other areas to help restore power to properties in the south-west and west Midlands, which felt the strongest impacts of Storm Goretti, the National Grid said.

The utility company said it had restored power to 169,380 properties across the south-west, Midlands, and south Wales by noon on Friday.

Field operations director Roisin Quinn said:

Fallen trees, heavy snow and stranded vehicles have made it difficult for our teams to reach some areas to carry out repairs safely.

Engineers are working around the clock to get customers reconnected as quickly and safely as possible.

Here are some of the latest images of damage caused to sea defences and beach huts in Folkestone, Kent:

RNLI volunteers battled horrendous conditions to rescue people from boats as Storm Goretti hit Cornwall.

Falmouth RNLI responded to seven separate incidents on Thursday night in “hurricane strength” winds described as the “worst” ever seen by volunteers.

The crew was called out at about 7.10pm as a number of vessels were breaking free from their moorings with people aboard.

RNLI volunteers worked for three hours in strong winds and heavy rain to assist people in difficulty.

Nick Head, coxswain, said: “The conditions were very tricky with 90mph winds, torrential rain and hail, and it was certainly the worst weather conditions I’ve been out in as coxswain.”

The lifeboat pontoon suffered some damage, as did many other structures around the harbour. However, the lifeboat remains in service and operational.

Dickon Berriman, RNLI area operations manager, said: “While most of us were in the warmth and safety of our homes last night, our dedicated volunteer crews spent hours at sea in the dark helping people in difficulty, contending with horrendous conditions brought on by Storm Goretti, the worst Cornwall has seen in many years.

“Their courage, selflessness and dedication is incredible. While the worst of the weather has passed through, we would urge vessel owners to make sure their anchor and mooring lines are secure and also to check local weather and wind reports prior to planning any passages.”

The RNLI has urged anyone visiting the coast to stay a safe distance from wet and slippery edges and to carry a means of calling for help, as well as keeping someone informed about their whereabouts.

The stadium of Cornish Pirates rugby club in Penzance has been damaged by Storm Goretti.

The roof on the main grandstand at the Mennaye Field has had large chunks torn off it by the strong winds, reports the PA news agency.

“We hope everyone is staying safe amidst Storm Goretti, but unfortunately the Mennaye and the main grandstand has fallen victim, with some significant damage,” the club said in a statement posted on social media.

Our next match will go ahead as planned, with Redruth and Camborne willing to host us should we need to and subject to RFU clearance.

In Aberdeen, Ian Yuill, co-leader of the city council, said that on Thursday there were 17 road gritters out, ploughs, 14 pavement gritters, 90 road staff, about 240 environmental services staff, and 31 diggers hired from contractors all shifting snow and treating roads and pavements.

According to the PA news agency, he told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast on Friday:

It’s a huge job. Our staff can’t be everywhere but they are working incredibly hard, and we have been gritting roads pretty much around the clock since this started.

One of the challenges that Aberdeen city council has had is because of the repeated snowfalls, our gritters and ploughs have had to go back time and time and time again to the priority routes in the city, and that has meant they haven’t been able to get on to secondary routes and side roads.

Hiring these diggers has allowed the council to move snow on side roads and start to tackle that problem.

There is still a long way to go. There is still an awful lot of snow lying on the streets and pavements of Aberdeen.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have been dealing with the aftermath of Storm Goretti after the winter storm battered the areas with 100mph winds.

On Friday morning, Cornwall council recommended that residents avoid travelling as a large number of roads remained closed due to fallen trees, downed power lines and debris.

Over on the Isles of Scilly, the council said the impact of Storm Goretti had only been “fully revealed” this morning and that it was working to clear debris and remove hazards from the roads and pathways.

In its latest update, the council of the Isles of Scilly said:

At present the road is closed from Parting Carn to Sunnyside and from Telegraph to the Golf Club on St Mary’s. Roads are also blocked across the highway network, so there is no clear route to town from the opposite end of the island.

Highways teams are working with the emergency services and local tree surgeons to clear fallen trees and electrical wiring. It is going to take some time to clear a safe passage, but we will aim to update you all as soon as this has been achieved.

Here are some images coming in from Cornwall:

The north and north-east of Scotland have seen several days of “intense” snowfall, ice and sub-zero temperatures which have led to school closures and travel disruption.

Scotland’s first minister John Swinney said earlier that efforts are now turned towards recovery. He said:

The challenge with the snow has been, quite simply, the volume, and we’ve had formidable resources available in the north-east and in the Highlands to clear transport routes on the trunk roads and also on the rail network, which is the responsibility of the government.

We’ve been working closely with local authorities about snow clearing in their localities.

More than 250 schools remain closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, and a number in Moray.

All “priority one” routes in Aberdeenshire and the Highlands are open, but Traffic Scotland confirmed snow gates remain closed on the B974 Bridge of Dye, and many local routes remain affected.

Rail lines around Scotland have now reopened, with the northern section of the Far North Line between Brora and Wick/Thurso being finally cleared of snow on Thursday evening.

Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop welcomed the news, posting on social media:

Thank you Network Rail Scotland - huge effort in very challenging conditions.

Ministers attended a meeting of the Scottish government’s resilience room on Thursday afternoon, after which justice secretary Angela Constance provided an update on recovery efforts:

Following five days of amber warnings and hugely challenging snow and ice conditions across northern Scotland, progress to fully recover continues.

However, there are yellow weather warnings in place overnight for most of Scotland, and with Storm Goretti set to affect other parts of the UK and a cold but still unpredictable weather picture for Scotland over the weekend, it is clear that impacts will continue to be felt in the coming days.

Swinney said:

We’ve had a period of really intense and heavy snowfall in certain parts of Scotland, particularly the north-east, the Highlands and the Northern Isles and the Western Isles, and the government has been closely engaged with local resilience partnerships throughout that series of amber warnings, and those amber warnings have gone on for a prolonged number of days.

He added:

We are, however, thankfully, in a position where we are able to focus more on recovery than dealing with the immediate incident, and that very much is the focus of all local resilience partnerships, and the government is supporting with the reallocation of resources where that is possible to do so.

At least 69 flights scheduled to operate to or from Heathrow airport on Friday have been cancelled. This is likely to have disrupted more than 9,000 passengers, reports the PA news agency.

Most of the cancellations are short-haul flights by British Airways, which is the largest airline at Heathrow.

Storm Goretti “continues to cause problems” as a mixture of rain, sleet and snow batters some areas of the UK, the Met Office said.

Meteorologist Alex Deakin said the storm will continue to clear throughout Friday, but many still face a “wet, cold, miserable day”.

He said:

Storm Goretti continues to cause problems through Friday morning, particularly across parts of eastern England, where we are seeing a mixture of rain, sleet, and still some snow falling.

The heavy snow over the West Midlands and Wales has now eased but of course, is still lying on the floor and still causing some disruption.

Gradually, through the day, the storm will continue to clear away, but it’s going to still be a wet, cold miserable day across much of eastern England, and still icy across parts of northern Britain as well.

Have you been affected by Storm Goretti? If so, the Guardian’s community team would like to hear from you.

Share your experience and upload any photos you have taken of the impact in the form linked here:

Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording, or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.

Here are some of the latest pictures coming in via the newswires:

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said that employers “must show understanding and not punish workers who cannot safely travel to work” by withholding pay or making them use their holiday.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

This will be a stressful time for many people – especially with forecasters sounding the alarm. Employers must show basic common sense and understanding.

No one should be pressured into making dangerous journeys. And workers shouldn’t be punished with lost pay or forced to take holiday because the weather makes travel impossible.

Good bosses will already have bad weather policies in place so staff know where they stand. They will also recognise that when schools are closed some parents will not be able to work as they have to care for their children.

The TUC suggests that all employers have clear weather policies to set out what staff should do when snow and ice, or a lack of public transport, prevents them from getting to work. The union body says that these policies should also cover what parents should do if schools close and they have no alternative childcare.

Official health and safety law says the temperature in workplaces should normally be at least 16C (or 13C if much of the work indoors involves severe physical effort) and bosses should also ensure entrances to workplaces are gritted and not slippery.

More than 45,000 properties were without power in south-west England just before 9am on Friday, according to the National Grid’s website, while about 17,000 had no power in the West Midlands, more than 700 had no power in the East Midlands and more than 600 were without power in Wales.

As reported earlier around 8am, 147,983 properties had been restored across south-west England, the Midlands, and south Wales.

More travel updates are rolling in, per the PA news agency:

A number of East Midlands Railway (EMR) services will be affected by snow on Friday.
EMR said the Hope Valley, the line between Sheffield and Manchester, will be closed all day. A number of other lines, including between Nottingham and Lincoln and between Leicester and Nottingham, will be closed until after 10am on Friday.

The train operator said

Please check your journey before travelling today. Heavy snowfall has impacted our regional routes with some services starting later than usual.

Network Rail has said “very intense heavy snow” hit the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire areas on Thursday night, while the West Country and Wales saw high winds.

Workers with chainsaws and snowploughs are being used to help railway staff clear routes in those regions.

Passengers are advised not to travel by train in Birmingham and surrounding areas until at least midday. Some lines in the region may remain closed until Saturday.

There is severe disruption in Wales and no trains in Cornwall until midday on Friday.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire county council said some of the highest roads in the Peak District have been closed since last night.

The roads that remain closed on Friday morning are parts of the A57 Snake Pass, the A54/A537 Cat and Fiddle, the A6024 Holme Moss, the A53 Axe Edge and the A5004, Long Hill.

The council said:

Our fleet of gritters, fitted with snowploughs, have been out on the main roads all through the night. They will continue to do this throughout the day.

We won’t have been able to get to any smaller roads so far. In the north of the county, where we closed five of our highest roads last night, we’ll go and take a look at those later this morning.

It’s not just the UK that has been struggling with cold conditions, weather warnings and travel disruption, as Senay Boztas reports from the Netherlands:

A week-long winter cold snap that would once have been normal in the Netherlands has caused more than 2,000 flight cancellations, chaos on roads and railways, buildings to partially collapse, and a stream of angry cyclists asking why roads seem better gritted than cycle lanes.

Since Saturday, up to 15cm of snow has fallen across the country, with temperatures of -10C (14F) including wind chill, sparking angry commentary over how some nations manage months of snow but the Netherlands, no longer used to it, appears paralysed.

According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), snow is becoming less frequent as the climate crisis bites. In 1961, there was snow cover on an average of 23 days a year at the institute’s weather station at De Bilt, near Utrecht; now, it is just three days a year.

Wiebe Wieling is a former chair of the Elfstedentocht (11 cities tour) Association, which tries to organise an outdoor ice skating race on natural ice across 11 Friesian cities if the ice is thick enough, something that has not happened since 1997. He said:

We just don’t have the winters that we had in the 20th century. It’s not only my frustration. It’s a Dutch frustration. It’s a climate frustration.

So when snow does come, like it did this week, some worry that Dutch people have forgotten how to cope with it.

“Yesterday, I was walking along an important cycle route to various schools in Rotterdam,” an environmental consultant, Vincent Luyendijk, said on social media, sharing photos of children forced into the middle of traffic. “I was blue in the face with frustration.”

Power has been restored to 147,983 properties across the south-west, Midlands, and south Wales after Storm Goretti disrupted access to some sites on Thursday evening, National Grid said.

It said teams will “continue to work tirelessly” throughout the day on Friday to restore power to the remaining properties without power.

Cornwall council advised residents to avoid travelling on Friday morning. It said:

Roads and public transport remain disrupted this morning as we deal with the aftermath of Storm Goretti. Please avoid travelling if you can.

It added:

A large number of roads are still closed due to fallen trees, downed power lines and debris.

Our teams are working around the clock to clear them, and we ask that you give crews the space they need to carry out urgent repairs safely.

More travel updates: Ferry operator DFDS said all its sailings between Dover and France are disrupted.

It said:

All services are currently operating with delays due to strong winds in the Channel.

Please check-in as normal, we will transfer all passengers on to the first available sailing on arrival.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We have an update on Birmingham airport, which suspended its runway operations on Thursday evening due to heavy snow (see 5.42am GMT).

In a statement on Friday morning, Birmingham airport said its runway remains closed but it has resumed processing passengers through security. It said:

Our teams are completing final snow clearance and safety checks on the airfield.

Runway operations are still suspended at this time however passenger security processing has commenced.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause however the safety of our colleagues and customers is our number one priority. Passengers due to travel should contact their airline regarding the status of flights.

Here are some of the latest images coming in as Storm Goretti pummels the UK.

And one from France of a huge wave crashing on the jetty of the harbour of Le Conquet, western France, as Goretti was announced to be approaching the country’s northern coasts.

The highest wind gusts recorded from Storm Goretti has remained 99mph in St Marys, according to the Met Office on Thursday evening.

It said in its update posted on X that the next five highest were:

• 90mph – Culdrose

• 82mph – Camborne

• 76mph – Cardington

• 74mph – Needles Old Battery

• 73mph – Plymouth

The storm has cut electricity to 380,000 households in France, a power company is being reported as saying.

We’ll bring you more as it comes to hand.

Birmingham airport suspended its runway operations on Thursday evening due to heavy snow.

It posted on X a short while ago that its teams were now “completing final snow clearance and safety checks on the airfield”.

It also said:

Runway operations are still suspended at this time however passenger security processing has commenced … Passengers due to travel should contact their airline regarding the status of flights.

Network Rail has urged passengers to check for updates before they travel on Friday morning.

Some railway lines have been closed in Wales since Thursday afternoon and all trains were cancelled in Cornwall from 6pm last night, with no replacement road transport due to risky driving conditions.

In Devon, trains between Exeter and Okehampton and between Exeter and Barnstaple were also suspended from the same time because of forecast high-wind speeds.

National Rail said train services across England, Scotland and Wales might be affected until the end of Friday because of the weather.

Regional director Jake Kelly said thousands of Network Rail staff would do “everything they can to keep the railway running” but “we are concerned that the scale of the storm means there may still be some disruption”.