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Germany is expecting heavy snowfalls of up to 20cm after record winds of more than 210kph left almost 400,000 homes in France without electricity, as Storm Goretti battered north-western Europe.
No major or widespread damage to property was reported in France on Friday but one man was seriously hurt after slipping from his roof while trying to replace fallen tiles and 27 others suffered minor injuries, several requiring hospital treatment.
France’s national weather service, Météo-France, had issued severe weather warnings urging residents to remain home. Gusts of 213kph (132mph) and 216kph (134mph) were recorded overnight at Gatteville and Val-de-Saire in Normandy.
Windspeed records were also broken in Brittany, and a gust of 148kph (92mph) was registered at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. More than 380,000 homes mainly, in Normandy and Brittany, were without power on Friday lunchtime.
Regional train services were suspended across north-west France on Friday morning, with disruptions expected to last at least until late afternoon, although high-speed TGV rail services were operating and no serious flight delays were reported.
Schools remained shut in the north of the country and weather alerts were issued in 30 other regions. “Take shelter and do not use your vehicle,” the Manche prefecture in Normandy warned, urging residents to prepare emergency lights and drinking water.
The worst of Elli, as Germany is calling the storm front bearing down on the country, was expected to arrive later on Friday with strong winds, heavy snowfall and temperatures likely to plunge as low as -20C in certain areas.
Deutsche Bahn halted long-distance rail services across a large swathe of northern Germany, as the national weather service DWD warned of ice and snowdrifts making many roads impassable.
The region around Hamburg, where at least 15cm of fresh snowfall was expected, and the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein were expected to be hit hardest. Schools were closed and more than 700 sanitation workers deployed to clear streets in Hamburg.
Outside the northern port city of Bremerhaven, three youths were taken into custody for throwing blocks of ice on to the motorway into incoming traffic. Police said several vehicles were hit but there were no reports of injuries.
Authorities advised those who could stay at home to do so to avert accidents while telling motorists to fill up their tanks and place blankets and water in their vehicles in case they get stranded.
Central and southern Germany, where temperatures were slightly higher, were bracing for freezing rain. Overnight three people were slightly injured in Baden-Württemberg state when a bus skidded on ice down a hillside.
Berlin and the surrounding Brandenburg state, initially expected to be pummelled with ice and snow by Elli, appeared likely to be spared the worst of the storm. “We see no danger to life and limb,” a DWD spokesperson said, calling off a previous warning.
