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Storm Boelo batters UK with 80mph gusts and widespread disruption

Summarised from 5 outlets · 13 reports · Updated 25 Oct, 11:57 · Archive

Storm Boelo is bringing high winds and heavy rain to the UK, with gusts potentially exceeding 80mph and amber warnings across Scotland and northern England.

Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season, is bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the UK after Storm Austen hit the south-west on Friday. The second storm arrived less than 24 hours after the first, with thousands of homes remaining without power in south-west England on Saturday morning. Wind gusts of 60 to 70mph are forecast across the affected areas, with exposed coastal regions potentially reaching 80mph. In West Yorkshire, gusts of 55 to 65mph are expected, with the highest gust in Leeds forecast at 58mph.

Amber wind warnings, the Met Office's second most severe alert level, are in place across Scotland and the north of England down to Carlisle from 9pm Saturday to 9pm Sunday. A separate amber warning covers the north east of Northern Ireland from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday. A further yellow warning for very wet and windy weather stretches across the whole of the UK's north from midday Saturday to 9pm Sunday. The Met Office forecast for Bradford describes the afternoon as unsettled with persistent rain moving in from the west, clearing to blustery showers in the evening, with very windy conditions continuing overnight.

The Met Office warns that Storm Boelo will bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, with people advised to stay indoors wherever possible. The Met Office forecast suggests power cuts could potentially be replicated across the amber areas in the north this weekend, as occurred in south-west England during Storm Austen.

Transport networks face widespread disruption. TransPennine Express is warning against all but essential train journeys on Saturday and Sunday, while Avanti West Coast strongly advised users not to travel north of Preston on Sunday. Ferries crossing the Irish Sea have been cancelled and disrupted. At Leeds Bradford Airport, flights have been cancelled, diverted and delayed. Arrivals from Dublin, Palma, Krakow, London Stansted and Malaga have been diverted, while departures to Dublin, Belfast City, Palma and Malaga have been cancelled. A flight arriving from Malaga at just after 8am was reported to have passed by the airport three times before successfully landing.

The Environment Agency has issued 11 flood alerts across England warning that flooding is possible. Coastal areas are at particular risk, with two flood warnings issued for Scarborough. The Environment Agency warns that flooding is expected from 5pm to 8.30pm on Foreshore Road and from 5pm to 9pm on Sandside on Sunday, with flooding caused by high tides, strong winds and large waves. Overtopping waves are expected along coastal roads, footpaths and foreshore areas from Whitby to Filey, with the public urged to avoid these areas.

Event cancellations have also been announced. The Take A Way Back art trail exhibition, organised by the Bradford Culture Company, was due to take place at Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor over the weekend, starting at Bracken Hall on Saturday, but has been postponed until 31 October to 1 November due to the storms.

Storm Boelo batters UK with 80mph gusts and widespread disruption
Image: Yorkshire Post

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How it is being reported

In this story: Storm Boelo · Storm Austen · Met Office · Environment Agency · TransPennine Express · Avanti West Coast · Leeds Bradford Airport · Scarborough

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