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Storm Boelo: amber warning for Scotland, gusts up to 80 mph

The warning runs from 21:00 Saturday 24 October to 21:00 Sunday 25 October and also covers Northumberland, Cumbria and Counties Antrim and Londonderry. It follows Storm Austen, which left more than 16,000 homes in the South West without power.

By Rowan Ashby Published 23.10.26 10:47 UTC 5 min read

Met Office graphic of the Storm Boelo amber wind warning for Scotland, the far north of England and parts of Northern Ireland — Photo: @metoffice via X / Social media post (credited) · Source

Key takeaways

Storm Boelo has prompted a Met Office amber wind warning for most of Scotland, plus Northumberland, Cumbria and Counties Antrim and Londonderry, from 21:00 Saturday 24 October to 21:00 Sunday 25 October (local time).
The Met Office expects widespread gusts of 60–70 mph, and up to 80 mph on exposed coasts. It says flying debris could put lives at risk and that power cuts are a good possibility.
Storm Austen, the first named storm of the 2026/27 season, hit south-west England and Wales overnight. Gusts reached 76 mph at St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, and PA Media reported more than 16,000 homes in the South West without power late on Friday morning.
In the reports reviewed for this article, there were no deaths or serious injuries linked to Storm Austen as of 11:00 UTC on 23 October.

Storm Boelo amber warning: what happened

Storm Boelo has prompted a Met Office amber wind warning for most of Scotland, the far north of England and parts of Northern Ireland, from 21:00 Saturday to 21:00 Sunday. Gusts of 60–70 mph are expected widely, and up to 80 mph on exposed coasts.

UK clocks go back one hour early on Sunday 25 October. In UTC, the amber period therefore runs from 20:00 Saturday to 21:00 Sunday.

The Met Office expects the strongest winds to reach western Scotland and the far north of Northern Ireland first on Saturday evening. They should then spread east overnight and through Sunday, before easing from the west later on Sunday, according to the warning details published by the Scottish Daily Express.

Areas covered by the Storm Boelo amber warning

Region	Local authority areas in the amber zone
Central, Tayside & Fife	Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling
Grampian	Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar	Highland, Na h-Eileanan Siar
Strathclyde	Argyll and Bute, Glasgow, the Ayrshires, the Lanarkshires, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, East and West Dunbartonshire
SW Scotland, Lothian & Borders	Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Scottish Borders
Northern England	Cumbria, Northumberland
Northern Ireland	County Antrim, County Londonderry

Source: Met Office warning areas as listed by the Scottish Daily Express, 23 October 2026. Check the Met Office warnings page for the latest boundaries.

Storm Austen: power cuts and the strongest gusts

Storm Austen brought an amber "danger to life" wind warning to Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly from 01:00 to 10:00 BST (00:00–09:00 UTC) on Friday. At 07:08 UTC, the Met Office published the highest gusts recorded so far.

Weather station	Peak gust (mph)
St Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly	76
Culdrose, Cornwall	71
Camborne, Cornwall	68
Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire	58
Plymouth Mountbatten, Devon	58
Needles, Isle of Wight	58

Source: Met Office on X, 23 October 2026, 07:08 UTC. These figures may change as more data comes in.

Power-cut totals rose through the morning. ITV West Country reported nearly 9,000 homes without electricity, mostly around Penzance and central Cornwall. It said National Grid's outage map also showed cuts in Saltash, Truro and Redruth. PA Media later put the total at more than 16,000 homes in the South West just before 11:00 BST (10:00 UTC), as reported by the Evening Standard. At 08:37 UTC, BBC News reported that "thousands" were without power across large parts of the UK.

Travel was also disrupted. Met Office forecaster Simon King told BBC Radio 4 that ferries and trains had been cancelled, according to the Evening Standard. Great Western Railway imposed speed restrictions between Devon and Cornwall, and some schools in Cornwall delayed opening until the amber warning ended. Fallen trees blocked several lines in south-east England during the morning rush hour. Newquay Airport warned passengers to expect disruption.

What we know and what we don't know yet

Known: the amber area and timings for Storm Boelo; the Met Office forecast of 60–70 mph gusts, and up to 80 mph on exposed coasts; and the official Storm Austen gust readings above.
Known: the Met Office's listed impacts for Boelo include flying debris, damage to buildings and trees, large waves on coastal roads and sea fronts, power cuts, possible loss of mobile signal, and disruption to road, rail, air and ferry services and bridges.
Not yet known: a confirmed national total of homes left without power by Storm Austen. Figures from different outlets range from about 9,000 to more than 16,000, and restoration was continuing.
Not yet known: whether the Boelo warning will be extended or upgraded, and which ferry, rail and air services in Scotland will be cancelled at the weekend. Operators usually confirm this closer to the time.

Background: Austen, Boelo and the 2026/27 storm names

The Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch weather service KNMI share one list of storm names each season. Each service supplies seven names, and storms are named when they are expected to bring amber or red warnings. Austen, an Irish submission, was first on the 2026/27 list. Boelo, a Dutch name from KNMI, is second, according to KNMI's announcement as reported by IamExpat and the Met Office's own list.

Having two named storms within about 48 hours is unusual this early in the season. In its Storm Austen briefing on 21 October, the Met Office had already said a second low-pressure system could bring strong winds to northern parts of the UK at the weekend.

What it means

For people in the amber area, Saturday night and Sunday are the main risk period. The Met Office advises securing loose items outdoors, checking travel plans before setting out, and keeping away from coasts where large waves are possible. Anyone travelling on Sunday should also remember the clock change. Distribution network operators ask people to report power cuts by calling 105.

Elsewhere, Bullquill is tracking Hurricane Vance off south-west Mexico, along with UK economic news such as UK inflation rising to 3.5% in September and the approval of Shell's Jackdaw gas field. More coverage is in the World section.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Storm Boelo amber warning in force?

From 21:00 on Saturday 24 October to 21:00 on Sunday 25 October 2026, local time. UK clocks go back early on Sunday, so in UTC it runs from 20:00 Saturday to 21:00 Sunday.

Which areas are covered by the Storm Boelo amber warning?

Almost all of mainland Scotland and the Western Isles, plus Cumbria and Northumberland in England and Counties Antrim and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office warning areas.

How strong will Storm Boelo's winds be?

The Met Office expects widespread gusts of 60 to 70 mph, and up to 80 mph in exposed coastal areas. It warns of flying debris, power cuts and travel disruption.

How many homes lost power in Storm Austen?

PA Media reported more than 16,000 homes without power in the South West just before 11:00 BST on 23 October. Earlier, ITV reported nearly 9,000 in Cornwall. A confirmed national total has not been published.