Storm Boelo brought chaos to the North East on Sunday as gusts of wind reaching 84mph hit the UK. Yellow weather warnings issued by the Met Office covering the whole of the North East, and amber warnings covering Northumberland and County Durham, remain in place until 9pm.
Rail and Metro Disruption
Rail travel has been severely disrupted across the region. Northern Rail announced cancellations to services on all routes between Carlisle, Hexham and Newcastle because of a tree blocking the railway caused by severe weather, with disruption expected until the end of the day on October 26. CrossCountry trains announced that services north of Newcastle would be subject to delays following the introduction of speed restrictions.
Tyne and Wear Metro services were also suspended on Sunday morning due to a fallen tree on the overhead line at Felling and at Hebburn. Services were suspended between Monument and South Shields for several hours on Sunday but have since resumed, with customers asked to leave extra time for journeys due to gaps in service.
Power Cuts and Fallen Trees
Thousands of households across the North East, including many in north Northumberland, were left with power cuts as a result of the storm. More than 82,000 properties are without power as Storm Boelo continues to batter northern parts of the UK.
In Birtley, Northern Powergrid workers were on site removing a fallen tree at Malone Gardens outside Birtley East Community Primary School, which brought down power lines.
Flight Diversions and Event Cancellations
At Newcastle Airport, several flights unable to land safely were diverted. An EasyJet flight from Palma due to land at Newcastle Airport on Sunday morning made three attempts to land but was unsuccessful and was diverted to London Gatwick Airport due to the high winds.
Several planned events, including the Newcastle Quayside market and Tynemouth market, which take place every week, were called off ahead of Sunday by organisers due to the storm, while National Trust and English Heritage sites also closed across the North East.
