Storm Austen triggers weather warnings
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The gist
Storm Austen, the season's first named storm, left thousands of homes in Wales and the South West without power.
A second storm, Boelo, follows on Saturday with a fresh yellow wind warning for Scotland.
Background
Storm Austen is the first storm of the 2026-2027 season to be named by the Met Office, the UK's national weather service, which names storms jointly with Ireland's Met Éireann and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). It intensified overnight after interacting with the Atlantic jet stream, deepening rapidly in a process meteorologists call "explosive cyclogenesis" to the south-west of the UK. Warnings were issued across the UK and the Republic of Ireland ahead of its arrival from the Atlantic, and it is trending as the first stormy spell of the season, with Storm Boelo close behind.
How it unfolded
- Oct 20, 2026The Met Office warned Storm Austen would bring 70mph gales and heavy rain across the UK.
- Oct 21, 2026An amber "danger to life" warning was issued for winds of up to 80mph in parts of south-west England, and weather warnings were issued across the Republic of Ireland.
- Oct 22, 2026The amber wind warning remained in force in parts of south-west England as the storm approached south-east England; Channel 4 News reported it would arrive Friday, followed by Storm Boelo on Saturday.
- Oct 23, 2026An amber wind warning covered Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly until 10am Friday, with yellow wind warnings across south-west England, Wales and northern England and gusts of 45-55mph. A Met Office rain warning forecast 50-75mm, exceeding 80mm over higher ground, and a yellow rain warning covered central and eastern Scotland.
- Oct 23, 2026Network Rail Scotland slowed trains on Friday, with speed restrictions on parts of the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines and routes across southern and eastern Scotland.
- Oct 23, 2026Storm Austen left thousands of homes in Wales and the South West without power, with school closures, blocked roads and disrupted flights; it was expected to clear into the North Sea by Friday evening.
- Oct 24, 2026A yellow wind warning for Storm Boelo covered mainland Scotland, the Western Isles and Orkney from 18:00 Saturday to 21:00 Sunday, with gusts of 50-65mph widely and up to 80mph in exposed locations.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The Met Office warned the storm could bring travel disruption, power cuts and a possible danger to life, with the most damaging winds on the southern and western edges of the system.
- Official
- Met Éireann warned of the potential of flooding, public transport disruption and very difficult driving conditions.
- Caution
- ScotRail service delivery director Mark Ilderton said safety is always the top priority and that the storms bring an increased risk of flooding and disruption on the railway.
Still unverified
The exact impacts of a second weather system forecast to track north of Ireland over the weekend remain uncertain, though its arrival means a possibility of several days of changeable and potentially disruptive conditions, according to BBC reporting.