LONDON (AP) — Britain braced Thursday for potentially life-threatening winds, rains and snowfall as a severe storm headed in from the southwest of England during what already has been one of the country's worst cold snaps in years.
The Met Office, Britain’s national meteorological service, issued a rare red weather warning — its highest — for the southwest of England for Thursday evening. It warned of “violent gusts” up to 100 mph (160 kph) for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which are exposed and thinly populated parts of the U.K. The agency warned of damage to buildings and homes, flying debris, widespread travel cancellations and power cuts.
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A house in the village of Klikovace, in Montenegro, after heavy rainfall this week, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A man walks past an ice covered building on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Stranded travellers queue at the information desk at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 people spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Bamburgh Castle surrounded by snow in Bamburgh, England, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A woman covers herself with a blanket against the cold next to a banking machine in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
People walk in front of the Reichstag Building, home of the German parliament Bundestag, on a snowy winter day in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Lost Earth Adventures' instructor Mick Ellerton climbs a frozen waterfall in Gordale Scar near Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, as ice warnings are in place across the UK ahead of a storm which is set to bring heavy snow later in the week, on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2026. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
Red weather warnings are issued when the forecaster considers it to be “very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure.”
The storm, which has been named Goretti by French weather service France Meteo, is then expected to traverse through central England, where snowfall of as much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) is expected just a few hours, disrupting schools, travel and commerce, especially in rural areas.
Goretti is expected to leave Britain’s shores on Friday and then impact other parts of northwest Europe that already have endured snow, ice and freezing temperatures in recent days. The Met Office said even stronger winds from Goretti are expected in the Channel Islands and northern France.
“This multi-hazard event will bring significant disruption to many,” said Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office. “This is a complex spell of severe weather."
The British government said emergency alerts on cell-phones are being issued to affected people containing information about the red warning and guidance on how to stay safe.
Compatible cell phones will make a loud siren-like sound even if they are set on silent, the fifth time alerts have been used in this way. The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds. The first one was sent at 3 p.m. to those in the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off southwest England. The second was sent two hours later to people in Cornwall, the county at the tip of southwest England.
The Met Office also issued amber warnings — one down from red — for other parts of the U.K., including central England. These have an “increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather," meaning there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, flight cancellations, power cuts and potential risk to life and property.
The U.K. Health Security Agency also extended amber cold weather alerts across all regions of England until Jan. 12, meaning severe health impacts are expected. Officials expect a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, with impacts also possible on younger age groups.
Many parts of Wales, northern England and Scotland have been blanketed over the past few days with snow that has led to numerous school closures and travel disruption.
In the Netherlands, the bad weather eased on Thursday, helping Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which saw hundreds of flights canceled on each of the first three days of the working week. However, it was briefly hit by a power outage in the morning.
Dutch national carrier KLM said there were still long lines of passengers at the airport but added that it was “doing everything possible to ensure departing passengers leave on time.”
On the other side of Europe, in the southeastern countries of the Balkans, bad weather was continuing to bring widespread disruption.
In Serbia, heavy snow has snarled traffic while temperatures in Slovenia have fallen to -25 degrees Celsisus (minus 13 Fahrenheit.
Bosnia, Kosovo and Montenegro faced floods after heavy rainfall and snow caused local rivers to overflow their banks, forcing dozens of people to evacuate their homes.
Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands and Jovana Gec in Belgrade contributed to this report.
A house in the village of Klikovace, in Montenegro, after heavy rainfall this week, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A man walks past an ice covered building on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Stranded travellers queue at the information desk at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 people spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Bamburgh Castle surrounded by snow in Bamburgh, England, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A woman covers herself with a blanket against the cold next to a banking machine in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
People walk in front of the Reichstag Building, home of the German parliament Bundestag, on a snowy winter day in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Lost Earth Adventures' instructor Mick Ellerton climbs a frozen waterfall in Gordale Scar near Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, as ice warnings are in place across the UK ahead of a storm which is set to bring heavy snow later in the week, on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2026. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As anger and outrage spilled out onto Minneapolis’ streets Thursday over the fatal shooting of a woman the day before by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left two people wounded and elicited more scrutiny of enforcement operations across the U.S.
Hundreds of people protesting the shooting of Renee Good marched in freezing rain at night down one of Minneapolis’ major thoroughfares, chanting “ICE out now” and holding signs saying, “killer ice off our streets." Protesters earlier vented their outrage outside a federal facility that is serving as a hub for the administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major city.
The shooting in Portland, Oregon, took place outside a hospital in the afternoon. A man and woman were shot inside a vehicle, and their conditions were not immediately known. The FBI and the Oregon Department of Justice were investigating. Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on ICE to end all operations in the city until a full investigation is completed.
Just as it did following the Minneapolis shooting, the Department of Homeland Security defended the actions of the officers in Portland, saying the incident occurred after a Venezuelan man with alleged gang ties and who was involved in a recent shooting tried to “weaponize” his vehicle to hit the officers. It was not yet clear if witness video corroborates that account.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly characterized the Minneapolis shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.
Vice President JD Vance said the shooting was justified and Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.
But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video recordings show the self-defense argument is “garbage.”
The shooting happened on the second day of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part, and Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.
It provoked an immediate response in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people turning up to the scene to vent their outrage at the ICE officers and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.
Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, as protests took place or were expected this week in many large U.S. cities.
“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens.”
Protesters blocked the street where Good was shot with makeshift barricades constructed out of garbage cans, Christmas trees and canopies. People gave out coffee and water, while fires burned in metal drums to keep visitors warm.
The Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said Thursday that it was informed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the it, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” said Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Gov. Tim Walz demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.
Noem, he said, was “judge, jury and basically executioner” during her public comments.
Frey, the mayor, told The Associated Press: “We want to make sure that there is a check on this administration to ensure that this investigation is done for justice, not for the sake of a cover-up."
Several bystanders captured video of Good's killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown.
The recordings show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.
It is not clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.
The federal agent who fatally shot Good is an Iraq War veteran who has served for almost two decades in the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
Noem has not publicly named him, but a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer refers to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota, in which court documents identify him as Jonathan Ross.
Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle of a driver who was fleeing arrest on an immigration violation. He was dragged roughly 100 yards (90 meters) before he was knocked free, records show.
He fired his Taser, but the prongs did not incapacitate the driver, according to prosecutors. Ross was transported to a hospital.
A jury found the driver guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Attempts to reach Ross, 43, at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful.
DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin also did not confirm his identity but said the officer involved in the shooting was selected for ICE's special response team, which includes a 30-hour tryout and additional training.
Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Protesters confront federal agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino arrives as protesters gather outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
A protester pours water in their eye after confronting law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
