Residents in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands were left blown away by how quickly snow covered the region tonight (January 8).<\/p>\n
Flurries of snow began at around 7pm<\/a> but the white stuff quickly built up momentum and began to stick to the ground once a short, wintry shower passed.<\/p>\n TikToker Alex Phillips, who lives in Birmingham<\/a>, shared footage of snow falling over a back garden in the city.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>Snow chaos in Birmingham live as storm closes airport runways, schools, roads and rail<\/a><\/p>\n Writing on social media platform X, shortly before 8pm, he said: “Two inches of snow has fallen in Birmingham in 45 minutes. Storm Goretti has taken hold.”<\/p>\n Less than 30 minutes later, others felt the amount of snow on the ground had already doubled.<\/p>\n Richard Johnson wrote on X: “Four inches of snow, Birmingham B45.”<\/p>\n The snow storm, which The Met Office described as “dangerous” to travel in, quickly caused disruption to public transport and road networks around the region<\/a>.<\/p>\n Birmingham Airport<\/a> suspended all its runway operations<\/a> and a section of the M5 was nearly unpassable due to the blizzard<\/a>. Lanes two and three were closed between J4 and J3 – causing huge traffic delays as snow ploughs and recovery teams were called out.<\/p>\n \u2022 Snow hits Birmingham and West Midlands as Storm Goretti takes hold – pictures <\/a><\/p>\n The roads were treacherous with the A38M Aston Expressway partially blocked due to accident and snow before A38 Corporation Street (Dartmouth Circus) and many other roads impassable. On Lichfield<\/a> Road, multiple vehicles were stranded, including a lorry on the canal bridge, and the road blocked in both directions from Livingstone Road to Abbotts Street.<\/p>\n National Express diverted a number of bus services away from their normal routes and Solihull-based bus operator LandFlight suspended all services due to the dramatic weather conditions.<\/p>\n Train services were also scaled back across National Rail’s network and a multiple points failure was reported at Snow Hill.<\/p>\n Notice boards inside Birmingham New Street station read: “Due to Storm Goretti, trains in the West Midlands and surrounding areas will be running on a reduced timetable from 7pm.<\/p>\n “Passengers are advised to take care to plan your journey and check before you travel. Only travel if absolutely necessary.”<\/p>\n Storm Goretti will likely continue causing travel chaos until around tomorrow midday, according to The Met Office, which has issued an ‘amber’ weather warning for the region.<\/p>\n