Storm Boelo lashes Scotland and northern England with gusts up to 82mph

Amber warnings across the north

Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season after Storm Austen, pushed strong winds across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England overnight into 25 October. The Met Office amber wind warning took effect at 9pm on Saturday, 24 October, and runs until 9pm on Sunday, 25 October, covering much of Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England. Only Orkney stayed under a yellow warning. The Met Office chief forecaster, Jason Kelly, said the strongest winds and greatest disruption were expected in the north.

Storm Boelo will be felt across the UK this weekend, with the strongest winds and greatest potential for disruption in the north.

The forecaster told people in affected areas to secure loose items in gardens and stay indoors, citing the danger from flying debris and crashing waves.

Gusts, trees and road closures

The Met Office recorded 82mph on Tiree in the Inner Hebrides at about 4am on 25 October, while Islay in Argyll and Bute saw 80mph gusts overnight. In the Glasgow region, gusts reached up to 62mph at the same time.

Fallen trees and flooding closed several roads. Traffic Scotland reported the A1 closed at Ayton because of power cables on the carriageway, the A82 closed at Bridge of Orchy and the A83 at Inveraray because of fallen trees, and the A78 at Skelmorlie closed over damage to the road surface. The M74 northbound was shut between Junctions 7 and 6 by a fallen tree, and the M8 eastbound at Junction 18 closed for flooding before reopening just before 5am on 25 October.

Transport cancellations and cancelled events

ScotRail said speed restrictions would apply on all Scottish routes on 25 October, and trains were not running between Kilwinning and Ayr, between Fort William and Mallaig, and between Helmsdale and Wick or Thurso. A flood blocked the railway between Preston and Blackpool North in Lancashire. The Scotsman reported that CalMac said 27 of its 30 routes were affected, while the Evening Standard put 24 of its 30 ferry services as cancelled, some until Monday, 26 October. Aberdeen Airport cancelled almost all of its morning flights, and Dublin flights were cancelled as well.

Visit Liverpool cancelled its River of Light event "in the interests of safety", and Aintree racecourse abandoned its Halloween Fun Day after gusts of up to 44mph. Aintree said:

While we are disappointed, the safety of our participants, visitors and teams is our number one priority.

SP Electricity North West reported thousands of homes without power, with more than 500 in Blackpool and 200 in Wigan. More than 400 people were evacuated from a caravan park near Preston.

Netherlands and the days ahead

In the Netherlands, a tree came down across the track between Lochem and Goor, stopping trains on the morning of 25 October, and another crashed onto a moving car in Amsterdam-Noord, leaving its driver unhurt. Schiphol said some runways were unavailable, so fewer aircraft could land and take off. KLM reported 149 cancelled flights to and from Schiphol, while the airport's website showed nearly eighty cancellations counted up to 17:00 on 25 October.

Another low pressure system is expected to deepen as it approaches from the south-west, bringing heavy rain and potentially strong winds on Monday, 26 October and into Tuesday, 27 October. A yellow wind warning covers Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and northern England from 03:00 on Tuesday, 27 October until midnight, and it remains unclear whether that system will be named. Conditions could become drier and more settled later in the week as high pressure builds.