Two people have died after trees were brought down, while tens of thousands of homes remain without electricity following two storms that swept across Britain within three days.
In north London, a man in his 20s was killed when a falling tree struck the car he was travelling in.
Emergency services were called to Dollis Road in Finchley shortly before 12.40pm on Sunday. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood of the North West Command Unit described the incident as “deeply tragic” and said police were thinking of the young man’s family and friends.
London Ambulance Service attended with ambulance crews, incident response officers, hazardous area response paramedics and a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.
The London death followed the loss of a 60-year-old man in Dumfries and Galloway, western Scotland, who was struck by a tree at around 10.30am on Sunday.
Two women were taken to hospital after being hit by a separate falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney offered his condolences to the families of the two people who died during Storm Boelo over the weekend.
Writing on X, Mr Swinney said: “My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the two people who have tragically lost their lives as a result of Storm Boelo.
“My thoughts are with everyone affected by the damage, and I thank the emergency services working through the night to protect people.”
CORNWALL: Waves crash over the Porthcawl coastline during Storm Boelo as concerns grow that a third storm could be approaching
SCOTLAND: A couple shelter as waves break across the promenade in Largs during Storm Boelo
A yellow wind warning covering Scotland, north-east and north-west England, and Northern Ireland will run from 3am tomorrow until 11.59pm. Storm Boelo battered northern parts of the UK with gusts reaching 84mph and rainfall equivalent to around a third of a month’s total in some areas of Scotland.
Together, Storm Boelo and the earlier Storm Austen left 838,700 British properties affected by power cuts.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents electricity network operators across the UK and Ireland, said 90,600 customers were still without power at 7pm on Sunday.
More unsettled conditions are expected today, with forecasters warning that rain will move across the north-east.
Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern said the weather pattern would be similar to the conditions seen during Storm Boelo on Monday and Tuesday.
“The strongest winds expected to affect the northern parts of the UK are due to arrive on Tuesday,” he said.
“Gusts could reach 70mph, and a yellow warning is in place, but we will be monitoring this system very closely.”
The weekend storms caused widespread disruption, including in Southampton, Hampshire, where a tree crashed through the roof of a house as a family watched television.
It left three holes and a large crack, and a 16-year-old boy was showered in glass, but no one was seriously injured.
Mother of two Aman Kaur, 45, said: ‘Suddenly we thought it was a bomb. The glass and the noise were shocking.’
Meanwhile, in Cornwall, a passerby was punched by a man on Polzeath beach when he tried to warn a family against entering the sea during Storm Austen.
A witness, who asked not to be named, told Cornwall Live: ‘I was just at Polzeath Beach and witnessed a family with young children enter the red-flagged beach.
‘A passerby then approached them and the father of the family proceeded to punch him in the face. The passer-by walked off after the altercation and a few minutes after the lifeguards on the beach asked the family to leave.’
Mr Swinney met senior politicians, emergency teams and forecasters on Sunday to discuss the ongoing response to the weather, amid warnings that similar conditions will return early this week.
After the meeting, Stuart Wilson, of Transport Scotland, said ‘significant recovery work’ is required before the network returns to normal.
Meanwhile, Scottish Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: ‘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.’
A yellow Met Office warning for strong winds and potentially damaging gusts is in place from 3am on Tuesday to midnight for the far north of England, Scotland, and the far north-east of Northern Ireland.
LANCASTER: A huge chestnut tree crashed into a home while the homeowner was making a cup of tea in the kitchen. No one was injured
DARLINGTON: A large tree crashed through the roof of a £600,000 home yesterday. The house was unoccupied and its new owners were due to move in next week
SCOTLAND: King George V Park in Glasgow’s southside was flooded by the overnight rainfall during Storm Boelo
Footage showed floodwater coursing around the town of Largs, North Ayrshire, on Sunday.
Staff at its Thai restaurant Tha-Tien-Thai shared a video of their kitchen overrun by water with the caption: ‘There is nothing left.’
It closed its doors for the foreseeable future ‘due to larger flood restoration than originally planned’.
Dangerous buildings in Ayr, south-west Scotland, were evacuated by police, as well as a caravan park in Ballantrae, around 33 miles away.
Emergency services were called to a flooded care home in Sidney Street, Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, on Sunday evening.
Police Scotland said everyone at the care home was accounted for, local road closures were in place and officers were expected to remain on site overnight to assist.
Some flights were diverted from landing at Leeds Bradford Airport and others were cancelled.
On Sunday evening, Northern Powergrid, which distributes electricity across Yorkshire and the North East, said 13,000 customers in the region were expected to be without power beyond Sunday night.
The energy company added electricity had already been restored to 102,000 customers.
Train journeys were also disrupted. Network Rail Scotland shared an image of flooding from the tracks to the platform in one Glasgow station and fallen trees above the lines near another.
Speed restrictions were in place across Scotland and several sections of its railways closed, the operator added.
It came after Network Rail posted photographs of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, in a call for those living near rail lines to firmly secure their garden furniture.
Collapsed trees, cables on carriageways, strong winds and damaged surfaces prompted closures to major roads in Scotland.
SCOTLAND: A fishing boat is stranded at Irvine Harbour in Ayrshire after coming loose from its moorings when Storm Boelo passed through the area
SCOTLAND: There was extensive damage and disruption un Inverclyde. A yellow weather warning for wind comes into force tomorrow at 3am
Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen, which brought strong winds to southern 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.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said it is hard to compare storm to storm because they affect different areas and ‘if a branch falls on your car in one, then you’re probably going to feel like that one was the worst storm ever’.
Storm Amy brought a gust of about 92mph and more than 100mm of rain to similar parts of the UK last year, which appears more severe than these two, he pointed out.
Storms often happen in quick succession, Mr Snell said, adding that Bert, Conall and Darragh appeared in about one week in 2024.
‘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,’ he said.
The looming low pressure system does not appear as potent as Austen and Boelo.
There were no current plans to name it as of Sunday afternoon but it will bring further wet and windy weather, Mr Snell said.
The country can expect a return to more dry and settled conditions after that, he added.
The Environment Agency early on Monday issued 10 warnings that flooding is expected and 65 alerts where it is possible.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said 10 flood warnings and 11 flood alerts were in place, while Natural Resources Wales reported nine flood alerts were active at the same time.
