Storm Goretti, named by Meteo France, is a deep area of low pressure, which the Met Office says will bring further snow, strong winds and heavy rain to southern parts of the UK from Thursday night
Up to eight more inches of snow will fall across large swathes of the country in the coming days, the Met Office has warned.
The latest deep area of low pressure — named as Storm Goretti by Meteo France — is feared to lead to travel disruption, power cuts and rural communities being cut off on Thursday and Friday. Hundreds of schools have been closed due to the weather, and look unlikely to reopen until Monday.
The temperature on Monday plunged to -12.5C in Marham, Norfolk — colder than Iceland — and it was -11C in the Scottish Highlands. The Met Office still has at least one weather warning in place each day until Saturday with the Midlands thought to be the worst area affected by the latest deep chill. Parts of this region, such as Worcestershire and Warwickshire, will see an accumulation of eight inches of snow by midday on Friday, the Met Office understands.
Rural communities in these counties and surrounding ones may be cut off. Parts of southwest Wales, including the South Wales Valleys, may also experience similar challenges with the heaviest of the next batch of snowfall feared earlier on Thursday night. The storm will then move east throughout the night.
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Snowfall will become more widespread in the early hours of Friday morning. Although it will be heaviest across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, regions further north will get a dusting. This includes parts of North Yorkshire.
But the brunt of Storm Goretti will tear further east, battering the East Midlands and the East of England by rush hour on Friday. Northamptonshire, for example, could see around six inches by Friday afternoon.
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Jason Kelly, chief forecaster with the Met Office, said: “A further spell of snow is expected to move east across central and northern Scotland today. Amber warnings are in place until 7pm this evening.
“Elsewhere, snow showers will be mixed with rain and sleet and it will be another very cold day, with strengthening winds too. Overnight, cold air pushes back in with temperatures widely dipping below freezing again. This means there is the risk of further ice overnight and a new yellow weather warnings for ice covers the majority of the UK until Wednesday morning.”
Cold Arctic air remains in place across the UK as well. It will feel as cold as -12C on Friday, although the air temperature will actually be warmer. However, the air temperature was as cold as -12.5C in Marham, Norfolk at the start of this week.
