East Midlands Airport closed after Storm Goretti's heavy snow batters Britain

East Midlands Airport, which is an operating base for Jet2.com, Ryanair and TUI Airways, says it has had to close the runway as "safety of passengers is top priority"

A second UK airport has been forced to close due to heavy snow today.

East Midlands Airport has had to shut its sole runway so teams can clear snow off the asphalt. Storm Goretti lashed wintry showers across the UK, particularly Wales and the Midlands overnight, and now travel disruption is expected this morning.

The closure follows the suspension of operations at Birmingham Airport, where arrivals and departures have been delayed and cancelled. Jet2.com, Ryanair and TUI Airways services to and from East Midlands Airport are expected to be affected by the halt, including flights for Alicante and Prague.

A statement by the airport, which is just inside Leicestershire, reads: "Our runway is temporarily closed due to heavy snow, as our teams work hard to clear it as quickly as possible.

"The safety of our passengers is top priority and we appreciate your patience during this time. Flights will resume as soon as it is safe to do so but some delays are expected."

The statement continues: "If you are due to travel today, please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight and take extra care when travelling to the airport. Please also take extra care on roads and footpaths around the airport site. We will provide further updates as soon as possible."

Wintry weather is set to cause chaos elsewhere across the country including school closures, widespread power cuts and other major disruption to travel. 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.

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. All trains in Cornwall were to be suspended from 6pm on Thursday, Network Rail said.

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

Rail services across England, Wales and Scotland may be affected until the end of the day on Friday due to the weather, National Rail said.

The storm, named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, has been described as a "multi-hazard event" by the Met Office, with as much as 30cm of snow possible in parts of the UK.

Weather warnings have been issued for snow, wind, rain and ice across the country, ahead of likely "disruption and dangerous travelling conditions".