Storms leave 90,000 homes dark

Northern England and Scotland remain in the dark on Monday morning after back-to-back storms stripped power from roughly 90,000 properties. The outage follows a brutal weekend of high winds that killed two men and forced the closure of businesses and transport links. Forecasters now warn that another round of strong winds is imminent, potentially delaying repairs further.

The Energy Networks Association reported that 90,000 customers were still without electricity as of Monday. Lawrence Slade, the group’s chief executive, explained that operators had to restore service to approximately 700,000 customers over the previous three days. He described the period as particularly difficult because Storm Boelo arrived immediately after Storm Austen. Slade noted that the lack of a break in the weather prevented crews from safely replacing poles and rewiring lines. Winds generally reached 50 to 70 mph, with gusts hitting 85 mph in northern Scotland.

Two lives were lost in the chaos. A 60-year-old man in Dumfries and Galloway was struck by a falling tree. In north London, a man in his 20s died in Finchley. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney met with emergency teams and senior politicians on Sunday to coordinate the response. On Monday, he posted on X that he offered his deepest condolences to the families of the two victims. He thanked emergency services for working through the night to keep people safe.

The Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings for Tuesday. The first covers western coastal areas from Cornwall to south-west Scotland from 6 pm until 3 am. Gusts of up to 65 mph are expected, along with heavy rain. The second warning applies to most of Scotland from 3 am to 9 pm, with winds of 50 to 60 mph likely and gusts up to 70 mph in the far north. Authorities warned of possible travel cancellations, road closures, and additional power cuts.

Flooding caused visible damage in several towns. In Largs, water cascaded through the town center, a level one resident said she had never seen in 36 years. Staff at the Tha-Tien-Thai restaurant shared video of their kitchen submerged in water. They stated the doors would remain closed for the foreseeable future due to larger flood restoration than originally planned. In Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, emergency services responded to a flooded care home on Sunday evening. Police Scotland confirmed everyone was accounted for and officers remained on site overnight.

Travel and leisure events faced disruptions. Flights were diverted from Leeds Bradford, while others were cancelled. Most train services began returning to normal, though operators advised customers to check before traveling. Sunday racing at Aintree was abandoned due to high winds. A live blog of a football match between Sunderland and Leeds noted that the wind was the main feature of the goalless draw.