Tens of thousands without power, schools closed and widespread travel chaos as Storm Goretti batters Britain with 99mph winds

It comes after Storm Goretti brought 99mph winds while a rare red warning was issued by the Met Office for “dangerous, stormy” winds in the South West.

More than 50,000 properties were without power in the South West on Thursday evening, according to the National Grid’s website, while about 9,000 had no power in the West Midlands and 2,000 were without power in Wales.

Elsewhere, all trains were cancelled in Cornwall from 6pm on Thursday and Birmingham Airport was forced to close due to heavy snowfall.

Read more: Rare 'red' weather alert for 100mph winds as Storm Goretti 'weather bomb' set to hit UK

Winds of 99mph were recorded at St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly on Thursday, which is a new record for the site, the forecaster said.

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

Brits should expect continued delays and disruption across most rail services throughout Friday, National Rail has warned.

Storm Goretti, named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, has been described as a "multi-hazard event" by the Met Office, with as much of 30cm of snow possible for parts of the UK and wind gusts of up to 100mph.

While the red alert has come to an end, weather warnings have been issued for snow, wind, rain and ice across the country, ahead of likely “disruption and dangerous travelling conditions”.

Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: “Storm Goretti will be a multi-hazard event, with the most significant impacts from snow in parts of Wales and the Midlands and the very strong winds in the far South West, though heavy rain in some parts of Wales and East Anglia also has the potential to bring disruption to many.”

A yellow warning for wind has been issued for the rest of the south coast and Wales, where gusts of up to 70mph are forecast, while a yellow warning for snow covers swathes of England from Bath to Northumberland.

Meanwhile, an amber warning for snow runs until 9am on Friday covering parts of Wales, the Midlands and Yorkshire.

About 10 to 15cm of snow is likely across the warning area, with up to 30cm on higher ground in Wales and the Peak District.

Dozens of schools across the Midlands and Wales have announced they will be closed on Friday where the amber weather warning has been issued.

A yellow warning for snow and ice is also in force across much of Scotland, where more than 250 schools are due to remain closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, and a number in Moray.

The red warning, which was in place until 11pm on Thursday, warned of damage to buildings and homes, very large waves, flying debris resulting in danger to life, power cuts and public transport cancellations.

The Met Office’s website says amber weather warnings are issued when there is an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather, including the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.

Yellow warnings are issued for a range of weather situations, including when it is likely that the weather will cause some low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places, or when the weather could bring much more severe impacts to the majority of people but the certainty of those impacts occurring is much lower, according to the Met Office.