Storm Boelo to cause ‘widespread travel issues’ with heavy rain and 80mph winds

Just days after Storm Austen slammed into the United Kingdom, the second named storm of the season – Storm Boelo – is expected to hit.

Storm Austen saw thousands of homes affected by power cuts, which the Met Office said could ‘potentially’ be replicated across the amber areas in the north this weekend.

The National Grid confirmed on Friday night that engineers had restored power to more than 60,000 homes since Storm Austen began.

Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said: ‘Yesterday’s Storm Austen affected the far south of the UK and northern France and the Channel Islands, whereas today’s Storm Boelo will be affecting the north of the UK.

‘We have an amber wind warning in place across Scotland later today and through tonight and into the end of Sunday. With the strong winds, potentially gusts exceeding 80 miles per hour locally, there will be some widespread travel disruption across Scotland, possibly northern parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England as well through the next 24 to 36 hours.’

Conditions are expected to stay ‘very wet and windy’ across the UK on Saturday, but with much of England and Wales able to look forward to a brighter and sunnier picture on Sunday.

Mr Morgan added that ‘we do need the rain desperately’, particularly in the south of the UK, which faced the brunt of the severe drought this summer.

Human-driven climate change disrupts rainfall patterns and drives more extreme weather events, which the UK also experienced this summer through successive record heatwaves.

The Prime Minister warned on Friday that the UK could face ‘a winter of greater flooding’ and said we are living in a world where ‘unexpected events’ are more common.

At one stage on Friday in the South West, 31,000 homes were without power, planes had been cancelled, and part of the historic West Pier in Brighton collapsed into the sea.

Amy Webb, chief operating officer at National Grid Electricity Distribution, said: ‘We know how difficult it is to be without power, particularly during severe weather.

‘Our engineers are out across the affected areas, working to repair the damage and get customers back on supply as quickly and safely as possible. We’re grateful for their patience while that work continues.

‘If you see a fallen power line, damaged pole or other damage to our equipment, please stay well clear and call 105 straight away.’

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