Storm Goretti left West Devon relatively unscathed as it swept over the South West last night, Thursday.

The storm wreathed havoc in Cornwall and parts of coastal Devon, with power cuts, fallen trees, flying debris and damage to buildings.

A gust of 99mph was reported on St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly, the Met Office said, the highest there since 1991.

The lights went out in Cornwall last night for many, as people stayed indoors listening to the howling of the storm. There was also some wild weather and flooding in South Devon and a scattering of snow in Princetown.

This morning, as winds eased at daybreak, a major clean up operation was in progress.

In Cornwall 45,000 homes were without power this morning.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “Roads and public transport remain disrupted this morning as we deal with the aftermath of Storm Goretti.

“Please avoid travelling if you can and work from home if possible. If you do need to make a journey, check routes and travel operators in advance as many bus and rail services are cancelled or running with delays.

“Our teams are working hard to clear up and make roads safe, including clearing multiple trees and debris in some areas. We ask that you give crews the space they need to carry out urgent repairs safely.”

Rail company GWR said no trains would be running on the Dartmoor Line (Okehampton to Exeter) or Tarka Line (Barnstaple to Exeter) until at least 12 noon today. These were suspended last night from 6pm.

Mainline train services from Plymouth to Penzance will not be up and running again until 12 noon. The Looe to Liskeard branch line is closed due to flooding.

In South Devon, there has been flooding and trees toppling in the strongest gusts. Fallen trees have been reported by Devon Highways on the A381 at Ogwell, the B3181 at Woodbury, the A379 at Yealmpton and the B3213 at Ivybridge.

This morning, a number of properties in the Newton Abbot and South Brent areas were without power.

It was wild on the coast. At least 15 ships were reported to be sheltering from the storm overnight, anchored in Babbacombe Bay and Torbay.

Photographer Paul Denning was able to capture the big waves over the seawall in Teignmouth.

He said: “It was relentless and continued like this for over an hour. This has to be some of the biggest waves I’ve seen in Teignmouth for over 30 years.”

In Tavistock, there was heavy rain in the afternoon as the storm unleashed her first fury.

However the forecast snow over Dartmoor was downgraded to rain yesterday afternoon, with just a light dusting of snow at Princetown, the highest settlement in Dartmoor, as the winds veered around to the north west yesterday night about 10pm.

A fallen tree was this morning blocking the B3362 Tavistock to Launceston road on the Cornish side, just beyond Greystone Bridge. A tree also blew down in the Bratton Clovelly area, north of the A30, but this was reported to have been swiftly cleared away.

Following the heavy downpours from the storm yesterday afternoon, many roads are still affected by floodwater. Drivers are warned to watch out for standing water and fallen debris if they do have to go out, with the advice being to avoid unnecessary journeys.