Storms Austen and Boelo leave 90,000 UK homes dark as new winds approach

Grid operators in the UK and Ireland reported that approximately 90,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning. The outage followed two consecutive storms, named Austen and Boelo, which battered the country over the weekend. Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association, stated that crews worked to restore service to roughly 700,000 customers between Friday and Sunday.

Slade described the recovery effort as difficult due to the rapid succession of the weather systems. He noted that engineers could not safely replace poles or reattach wires while strong winds persisted. Gusts reached 50 to 70 miles per hour in many areas, with some parts of northern Scotland experiencing speeds up to 85 miles per hour.

The storms caused two fatalities. A 60-year-old man was struck by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway. A man in his 20s died in Finchley in north London. Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, met with senior politicians and emergency teams on Sunday to coordinate the response to the ongoing damage.

Flooding impacted several communities. In Largs, Scotland, water cascaded through the town center, prompting one resident to describe it as the highest level she had seen in 36 years. At the Tha-Tien-Thai restaurant, staff shared video of their submerged kitchen and announced the business would close for an extended period for restoration. In Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, emergency services attended a flooded care home on Sunday evening, though police confirmed all residents were accounted for.

The Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings for Tuesday. The first covers western coastal areas from Cornwall to south-west Scotland from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m., with gusts up to 65 miles per hour expected. The second warning applies to most of Scotland from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m., with winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour and gusts up to 70 miles per hour in the far north.

Transportation disruptions affected flights and trains. Several flights were diverted from Leeds Bradford, the highest airport in England, while others were cancelled. Most train services returned to normal operations on Monday, though operators advised passengers to check for updates before traveling. The high winds also forced the cancellation of Sunday racing at Aintree.