Travel has been disrupted, events cancelled and properties left without power as Storm Boelo – the second named storm in as many days in the UK – brings high winds and heavy rain.
Thousands of homes are without power in south-west England after Storm Austen hit the region on Friday, and as the north braced for a second storm.
Maximum gust speeds of 75mph have already been recorded at South Uist Range, Western Isles, Highlands and Eilean Sair, Scotland, on Saturday, according to the Met Office, which has issued amber wind warnings and yellow warnings for rain.
People in the rain on Westminster Bridge, London (Yui Mok/PA)
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The amber warning sits within wider yellow warnings and extend south into parts of England and North Wales and cover the whole of Northern Ireland.
Storm Boelo follows Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought strong winds to parts of the UK on Friday.
Gusts of 76mph were recorded at St Mary’s Airport in the Isles of Scilly, with 74mph at Aberporth in South Wales and 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall.
Heavy downpours since 8am on Saturday have already seen rainfall totals of 72mm in White Barrow, Wiltshire, along with 43mm in Cwm Dyli, just south of the Snowdon range in North Wales, and Inveruglas on the west shore of Loch Lomond, Scotland.
Gusts of 75mph have hit the South Uist Range in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides and 71mph in Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire.
A yellow wind warning for parts of Northern Ireland came into force at 10am and will run until midday on Sunday.
Another for heavy rain covers Wales and parts of western and southern England until 11pm on Saturday.
The winds will pick up during the day and an amber wind warning, the Met Office’s second most severe, is active across Scotland and the north of England down to Carlisle from 9pm Saturday to the same time on Sunday.
A further amber warning runs from 9pm on Saturday to 10am on Sunday in the north east of Northern Ireland.
Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season, will bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and people should stay indoors as much as possible, the forecaster said.
Boelo’s strong winds had caused disruption to flights at Dublin Airport on Saturday, where as of 4pm, nine outbound and 10 inbound flights had been cancelled by airlines because of weather issues.
It also reported that six inbound flights performed go-arounds – five of which landed on the second attempt, with the other diverting to another airport before returning a short time later.
A man and his dog walk through Clarke’s Gardens in Liverpool, Merseyside, ahead of Storm Boelo (Peter Byrne/PA)
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A spokesman warned “winds are forecast to remain strong for the rest of the day, which may lead to further disruption”.
The strongest winds from Storm Boelo are expected from Saturday evening, extending eastwards through Sunday.
Visit Liverpool announced the region’s River of Light event, featuring illuminated artworks, had been cancelled “in the interests of safety”.
London’s annual Diwali on the Square celebrations this Sunday were cancelled on independent health and safety experts’ recommendation in light of the storm.
Events and attractions announced closures for Sunday including Edinburgh Castle and the Fountains Abbey estate in North Yorkshire, which was due to host its Fountains by Floodlight event on Sunday.
Network Rail shared images of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, in a call for those living near rail lines to secure their garden furniture firmly.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for very wet and windy weather stretching across the whole of the UK’s north is in place until 9pm on Sunday.
The Environment Agency has issued 42 alerts for spots across England where flooding is possible.
By 5.30pm, it had also issued six warnings that flooding was expected at New Brighton, Merseyside, because of high tides in the Irish Sea, and also along the Cumbrian coastline and at Lee’s Bridge at Astley Bridge, in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: “Storm Boelo will be felt across the UK this weekend, with the strongest winds and greatest potential for disruption in the north.
“Amber warnings are in place across mainland Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England, where gusts of 60-70mph are expected widely, with the potential for 80mph in exposed coastal locations.
“Strong winds will also affect other parts of the UK, with gusts of 50-60mph possible in places.
“Heavy rain will provide an additional hazard, particularly in the north, bringing the potential for further impacts.
“People should prepare for the potential for disruption, particularly to travel and power supplies.
“Secure loose items outside, plan ahead if you are travelling and keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings for your area.”
Intemperate weather will return later in the week with a yellow warning for strong winds with possibly damaging gusts running from 3am on Tuesday to midnight.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan previously said “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 and more common”.
Andy Burnham denied the suggestion that the Government is playing catch-up with civil preparedness as he attended a summit organised to learn from the summer’s record wildfires.
He said: “We potentially are facing a winter of greater flooding, so it’s about recognising all of those risks and taking action.”
At one stage on Friday in the South West, 31,000 homes were without power, flights had been cancelled and part of the historic West Pier in Brighton collapsed into the sea.