Storm Goretti is set to bring heavy snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures across central and southern parts of the UK. There’s a full house of Met Office amber and yellow weather warnings, for ice, snow, rain and wind – depending which part of the kingdom you happen to be in.
So what are the prospects for travellers as the storm approaches?
Rail
Rail passengers are waking up on Thursday morning to a barrage of warnings – including line closures taking place during the afternoon.
Northern says the line between Sheffield and Manchester, as well as routes to Glossop and Buxton, will be closed from 6pm today until Saturday morning.
Tricia Williams, managing director at Northern, said: “We have issued ‘Do Not Travel’ warnings on these three routes and are advising customers to check before they travel on other routes across our network and allow extra time for their journeys.”
Last trains to/from Manchester Piccadilly are:
- To Buxton 4.51pm; from Buxton 5.16pm.
- To Sheffield 4.48pm; from Sheffield 5.14pm.
- To Hadfield/Glossop 4.33pm; from Hadfield/Glossop 5.14pm.
Transport for Wales says six lines will be closed completely from 3pm on Thursday, with a reduced service on the remainder. The standard advice from TfW is: “You cannot travel - there are no trains running and we are unable to run rail replacement bus services.”
In Scotland, the northern parts of the Far North line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso remain closed, with some rail replacement buses.
Intercity operators are encouraging passengers to travel earlier in the day.
- Avanti West Coast is to reduce its timetable from 3pm. Instead of three trains an hour between both Birmingham and Manchester to London Euston, there will be two services – and only one an hour between Liverpool and London.
- CrossCountry is cutting back trains from 3pm, and is offering passengers with tickets for Thursday or Friday to travel on any train they like today, or switch to Saturday.
- LNER is also urging people with trains scheduled after 3pm on Thursday to travel earlier in the day if they can.
- Chiltern urges passengers to complete their journeys by 8pm on Thursday and warns of reduced services on Friday.
- South Western Railway has cancelled seven long-distance trains on Thursday evening and warns further disruption is likely.
Read more: What are your rights if your train is cancelled or delayed?
Road
Roads across the hills in Wales will be treacherous – and some may be closed. Traffic Wales warns: “Consider if your journey is essential or can it wait until the weather improves. If it is, follow your local police advice, check the weather forecast, and consider if you can take alternative travel such as public transport.
“The stopping distance in icy conditions is ten times more than in dry conditions. Main roads are more likely to have been gritted so will likely be safer to drive.”
The AA warns of “hazardous travel likely throughout Thursday night into Friday”. Snowfall combined with gusty winds can reduce visibility in seconds.
The motoring organisation says: “In some areas, 5-10 cm of snow may settle with the potential for up to 20 cm in some locations, especially over higher ground. Strong winds may lead to some drifting of snow.
“Typically in conditions such as these, the AA sees a surge in callouts of around 40-50 per cent.”
Morning rush-hour motorists are facing serious problems on two key routes. The M1 is blocked northbound in Leicestershire after an accident. In Cheshire, the M56 has lanes closed westbound due to emergency repairs.
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Ferry
The Thursday evening round-trip on Stena Vinga between Portsmouth and Jersey has been cancelled. Brittany Ferries’ afternoon sailing from Portsmouth to Caen is leaving 90 minutes early today to avoid the worst of the storm, with cancellations between Poole and Cherbourg on Friday.
Irish Ferries has brought forward several sailings between Holyhead and Dublin, and some of its Dover-Calais ferries on Friday are delayed or cancelled.
Northlink, connecting mainland Scotland with Orkney and Shetland, warns of “the possibility of disruption to our services from Friday 9 January 2026 through to Monday 12 January 2026”.
On Caledonian MacBrayne to and from the Western Isles, the main problems appear to be technical issues on the fleet, affecting links from Oban to South Uist and Mallaig to Armadale.
Air
Disruption at Amsterdam and Paris continues to affect UK travellers. About 1,000 flights to and from both cities were cancelled on Wednesday. Disruption continues: on Thursday KLM links from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and London Heathrow, and Air France services from Heathrow and Birmingham, were cancelled.
Six flights between Gatwick and Guernsey, and six flights between Heathrow, Gatwick and Jersey, have been grounded.
EasyJet is telling passengers: “We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled. This is because we have received an alert from Notam (Notice to Air Missions) advising of dangerous wind levels in Jersey. This has resulted in instructions that Jersey airport and the airspace surrounding the airport will not be open for operations during particularly hazardous periods.”
Both Channel Islands airports say they will close early at 6pm on 8 January due to Storm Goretti.
Jersey airport says: “We expect to reopen on Friday 9 January, however some flights may be affected.” But Guernsey says it is likely to open late on Friday morning.
Under UK air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there. But oddly those rules do not apply to flights from the Channel Islands to mainland Britain.
Britain’s biggest regional airline, Loganair, has so far cancelled eight flights on Thursday, serving Orkney, Shetland, Lewis and the Channel Islands.
For many other passengers booked to fly later on Thursday, or on Friday, Loganair is offering the chance “to adjust travel plans without charge”.
The airline says: “You can choose to re-book on an alternative flight up to 14 days from your original travel date. There will be no change fee or difference in fare payable. If a seat is available on an alternative flight, you can transfer your booking to that flight.”
Read more: Air passengers’ rights rules
