Fresh yellow weather warnings have been issued as strong winds and heavy rain are set to continue across parts of the UK after two storms battered the country. The Met Office has placed wind warnings on western areas for Monday and Tuesday, with gales and spells of rain posing a risk of ongoing disruption, particularly around exposed coasts and higher ground.
Storm Boelo brought 84mph gusts and a third of a month's rain to parts of Scotland, and the continued winds could hamper recovery efforts in some places. Two men were killed by falling trees on Sunday – a man in his 20s in Finchley, north London, and a 60-year-old man in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Two women were also taken to hospital after being struck by another falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross.
Power cuts and school closures
Power cuts hit 838,700 properties during Boelo and its predecessor Storm Austen. At 8am on Monday, 39,000 customers were still without power, according to the Energy Networks Association, which represents operators in the UK and Ireland.
In Aberdeenshire, 13 primary schools without power were shut on Monday, while Ellon Academy was closed because of storm damage. Ten primary schools were shut in the Highlands.
Warnings in place
A fresh yellow warning for wind has been issued by the Met Office, from 6pm on Monday until 3am on Tuesday. It covers parts of north-west England, Northern Ireland, south-west England, Strathclyde, south-west Scotland and Wales, forecasting gusts of 45-50mph inland and 60-65mph along exposed coasts and over high ground. The warning adds that the strong winds will be accompanied by heavy rain at times, and there could be some disruption.
Another yellow 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.
Outlook and recovery
Monday will remain wet and windy as rain moves across southern and western areas before spreading north east, bringing the potential for coastal flooding particularly in northern areas, the Met Office said. As this clears, drier conditions will develop across England and Wales later in the day. On Tuesday, early rain will clear eastern and south-eastern England, while heavier rain in the north west of Scotland gradually turns to showers. The strongest winds will continue to affect Scotland, particularly in the far north and north west where gusts in excess of 70mph are possible, with the Hebrides most likely to experience the strongest winds which could last several hours.
Conditions will begin to settle down from Wednesday as high pressure increasingly begins to influence the UK, bringing lighter winds and drier weather across much of the UK on Wednesday night and Thursday, though western areas may remain breezy and experience a few light showers. High pressure will keep England and Wales mostly dry on Friday, with morning fog clearing to sunny spells and temperatures of 13C to 16C, the Met Office said.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: "While the start of this week will be notably wet and windy, high pressure is expected to bring a quieter spell of weather later in the week." He added that from Wednesday, high pressure will build to ease winds and bring a quieter and largely drier end to the week for many, although some rain is still possible in the north and west. He noted that those in warning areas, particularly in northern Scotland and western high ground, continue to be exposed to strong winds and heavy rain before the more settled weather arrives.
Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen, which brought strong winds to southern parts of the UK on Friday, with gusts of 76mph recorded at St Mary's Airport in the Isles of Scilly, 74mph at Aberporth in South Wales and 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall.
The Environment Agency on Monday issued 13 warnings that flooding is expected and 44 alerts where it is possible. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said 33 flood warnings and 13 flood alerts were in place, while Natural Resources Wales reported three flood warnings and 14 flood alerts were active at the same time.
The Scottish Government Resilience Room met on Monday to discuss the impact of Storm Boelo on communities, as more than 100,000 households in Scotland lost power to their homes. While around 83,000 of those have since been reconnected, conditions for engineers remain challenging, the Scottish Government said.
Scottish Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "Over the weekend, we have seen a number of areas across Scotland experiencing severe impacts as a result of Storm Boelo, with flooding and electricity supply being cut off due to the heavy rain and high winds." She added that more high winds, rain and coastal flooding is forecast into Tuesday, and buildings and trees weakened over the weekend will be particularly vulnerable. She urged the public to continue to check their local weather forecast and follow the advice of the Met Office, Sepa and the police to ensure they stay safe.
