‘Panic shopping for’ hits supermarkets in Storm Goretti with Asda cabinets stripped naked as greater than 100 flood alerts are issued and warnings of extra snow this weekend
A mother was left shocked by empty supermarket shelves after ‘panic buying’ Brits cleared out a store before Storm Goretti hit the country.
Jennifer Marsh popped into the Asda store in the Sedgley area of Dudley at 6.30pm yesterday but hardly any fresh vegetables, bread or meat remained on sale.
Ms Marsh, 30, said on TikTok that her mother-in-law, who works at the shop, claimed everything was fine until the storm warning was imposed by meteorologists.
The store is located within the Met Office amber warning area in the West Midlands which came into force at 8pm last night amid fears of up to 30cm (1ft) of snow.
The mother-of-two had popped out to get baby milk for her daughter – and her local area had its first signs of snow about an hour later as the storm arrived.
Ms Marsh, whose video of the empty shelves has had more than 2,000 likes, said: ‘I think panic buying is silly when the snow is predicted for a couple of days.
‘But I can understand why people do it if they are anxious about the snow and when they will next get to leave the house.
Empty shelves at the Asda store in the Sedgley area of Dudley at 6.30pm yesterday
Hardly any fresh vegetables remained on sale at the Asda store ahead of Storm Goretti
Panic-buying Brits cleared out the Asda store before Storm Goretti hit the country yesterday
The mother-of-two had popped out to get baby milk for her daughter at the Asda last night
‘The shelves which were mainly empty were the fresh produce like fruit and vegetables, bread, eggs, fresh meats, and also the pastry and waffles.
‘Also, baby milk was running low, and I had to ask to see if they had what I needed in the warehouse. All the local schools around me are closed due to the snow.
‘Cars were getting stuck on our road, left, right and centre last night as we live on a hill and we had cars being dumped as people gave up on their journeys.’
The store on High Holborn Street in Sedley is open from 7am to 10pm on Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.
The Daily Mail has asked Asda for comment.
It follows reports of panic buying in the Aberdeenshire village of Kemnay this week, where ice-covered roads stopped any deliveries to local stores following heavy snow.
Community council member Richard Lamplugh told the Telegraph: ‘There has definitely been a food shortage, people worry so they panic buy. It’s difficult to get here, we’re reasonably cut off.’
The community can only be reached from a B-road four miles from the A96.
It comes as Britons were warned to expect a further foot of snow, flooding and icy conditions this weekend after tens of thousands of homes lost power during 100mph Storm Goretti.
Severe conditions caused school closures and travel disruption today with flights grounded at airports, roads blocked and large swathes of the rail network shut.
A person walks up Hill Street in Birmingham after snow fell overnight in the West Midlands
Overnight snow covers the Gas Street canal basin in Birmingham this morning
Birmingham wakes up to a thick covering of snow this morning as Storm Goretti sweeps in
People walk through the snow on Broad Street in Birmingham this morning after Storm Goretti
Deserted platforms and a departure board at Old Hill station in Sandwell, West Midlands, today
Now, the Met Office has issued fresh yellow warnings for snow and ice for tomorrow and Sunday as partially thawed snow refreezes before more blizzards arrive.
A combination of melting snow and rain will also increase the flood risk over the next few days, with the Environment Agency issuing 107 alerts and 14 warnings in England.
One new Met Office snow and ice warning covering most of Scotland and northern England runs from midday today until 3pm tomorrow with up to 15cm (6ft) set to fall.
A second yellow warning for ice will cover large parts of western England and Wales from midday today until midday tomorrow; while a third across Northern Ireland for snow and ice will come into force from 5pm tonight and run until 11am tomorrow.
A separate snow and ice warning on Sunday will be active for much of Scotland and the North of England from 2am until 3pm with another 30cm (1ft) accumulating.
Meanwhile the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has extended its amber cold weather health alerts for all of England until Monday, warning of a ‘rise in deaths’.
The Environment Agency has 107 flood alerts (in orange) and 14 warnings (in red) for England
Met Office yellow weather warnings are being imposed for tomorrow (left) and Saturday (right)
The wild weather brought 99mph winds overnight while a rare red warning was issued by the Met Office for ‘dangerous’ winds in South West England yesterday.
National Grid said 64,000 properties across England and Wales were without power this morning, including 48,000 in the South West and 15,000 in the West Midlands.
Birmingham and East Midlands airports both had to suspend operations due to the heavy snow, while all trains in Cornwall and many others in the North were axed.
The sky turned pink in areas of Birmingham this morning following the ‘weather bomb’, after the central pressure in the area of low pressure fell rapidly yesterday.
Roads were also closed due to fallen trees following a week of severe conditions that has seen villages in Scotland cut off and temperatures falling to nearly -15C.
People in Cornwall were urged to work from home this morning, with the council advising residents to avoid travelling due to the large number of closed roads.
