The storm saw winds of up to 85mph batter Scotland as flights were grounded and huge disruption was caused across the country
Tens of thousands of homes in Scotland are without power after Storm Boelo brought chaos across the country and left one man dead.
The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR), which held an emergency meeting on Sunday, said it had been told there is “potential” for adverse weather to return early in the week after a day of “respite” on Monday, as forecasters warn of more rain and high winds from another low pressure system.
The government said while 26,000 households in Scotland had had their power restored, 40,000 people were still without power on Sunday, with ongoing winds “hampering repair efforts”.
A 60-year-old man was killed after being hit by a falling tree on a road near Castle Douglas in Dumfries just after 10am on Sunday morning. Police said a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
Winds reached up to a high of 85 miles per hour in Machrahanish in Argyll and Bute and 82mph in the Inner Hebrides as the storm - the second in the past week after Storm Austen - hit on Saturday night.
Heavy flooding hit towns and cities across Scotland, but particularly in the west, where properties were engulfed in water after waves breached the sea wall in coastal locations including Largs and Tarbert, where some businesses were forced to close after being devastated by flood waters.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 17 flood warnings and 11 flooding alerts were active yesterday afternoon.
The SGORR meeting was attended by First Minister John Swinney, social justice and housing secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, transport secretary Stephen Flynn, minister for agriculture, marine and the islands Jim Fairlie. Minister for victims and community safety Kirsten Oswald, the Met Office, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Transport Scotland were also present.
Ms Somerville said on Sunday afternoon: “As we experience a third consecutive day of weather warnings with continued strong winds forecast until later today, it is important that people keep up to date on the impact the conditions are having in their local area.
“Disruption to travel is likely to continue into tomorrow and I strongly recommend people check official sources such as the Met Office, Traffic Scotland, transport operators and local authority channels before setting out. While we expect some respite from the adverse weather during the day on Monday, there is a possibility of more severe weather conditions early on in the week and we urge everyone to continue to follow advice and heed any warnings.”
She added: “If anyone is isolated or needs help or assistance, they should not hesitate to seek help from the appropriate authorities.
“We continue to monitor the situation and work closely with partners to respond quickly and try to mitigate the effects of Storm Boelo as far as possible.”
Stuart Wilson of Transport Scotland said: “The weekend of storms has brought challenges across the transport network and, in some cases, there will be significant recovery work required before we have the network back to normal.
“Our operating companies are working around the clock to restore parts of the trunk road network that have been impacted. The Traffic Scotland website and X account have regular updates on trunk road conditions, so I’d continue to urge drivers to plan their journey before setting off, particularly ahead of the return to work on Monday morning.
“The conditions have also impacted rail, ferry and air networks, so it’s vital travellers check with operators to see if their services have been affected.”
Forecasters said another low pressure system will be moving in to the north of the UK on Monday and Tuesday. It does not appear as potent as storms Austen and Boelo and there are no current plans to name it, but it will bring further wet and windy weather.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said high winds and rain were likely later this week, but said a quick succession of storms was not uncommon.
He said: “If the atmosphere is ripe for storm, it tends to mean it’s ripe for a couple of storms, so it is a fairly common thing.”
SP Energy said it was still working to restore power to more than 6,000 homes, while SSEN reported 74 power cuts affecting areas across parts of the Highlands and island, with 24,000 homes affected in its region.
The power outages have been reported across Highlands, Argyll, Western Isles, Orkney, parts of Perth and Kinross, and Stirling. Large parts of the Isle of Mull, Skye, Harris and Lewis have also been affected by the power cuts.
SP Energy said: “There are currently around 6,000 homes in the SP Energy Network areas without power, mainly across Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, after Storm Boelo battered Scotland overnight.
“More outages could occur as the storm continues and teams are on standby. An amber weather warning remains in place bringing falling debris and downed trees that have affected powerlines across the region.
It added: “Multiple repair teams have been mobilised and engineers are working to assess damage and identify key locations for repairs, where safe to do so, and restore customers as quickly as possible.”
In a social media post on Sunday, SSEN said it is “working hard to respond to damage caused by Storm Boelo”.
“Severe weather across our network will continue today and further disruption remains possible,” SSEN said. “If you see any damage to our network, please stay back, don’t touch it and report it to us by calling 105.”
On Sunday, CalMac cancelled almost all of its ferries - with 27 out of 30 routes affected - while sailings between Scotland and Northern Ireland were also cancelled.
Aberdeen Airport cancelled almost all flights on Sunday morning, including routes to Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Sumburgh, Kirkwall and Newquay. Others are still listed as scheduled from this afternoon, however are subject to change, while Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports saw certain routes affected.
Video footage showed that some planes struggled to land at Edinburgh on Sunday due to the high winds. Some managed to land first time, while others were forced to abort and re-circle and some were diverted elsewhere.
Bridges including the Queensferry Crossing and the Clackmannanshire Bridge were closed to high sided vehicles on Sunday, while the Dornoch Bridge, near Tain on the A9, has been closed to all vehicles because of strong winds.