Two storms kill two, cut power

Ninety thousand customers across northern Britain were still without electricity as of Monday morning, a figure reported by the Energy Networks Association. The grid operators stated that the outages were the result of back-to-back storms named Austen and Boelo, which battered the region over the weekend.

Two men died when trees fell on them during the weather event. A 60-year-old man was struck in Dumfries and Galloway, while a man in his 20s died in Finchley, north London. Authorities confirmed both deaths were linked to the falling trees caused by the high winds.

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association, spoke on BBC Radio 4 about the scale of the repair work. He noted that crews restored power to roughly 700,000 customers over the weekend. Slade described the period from Friday through Sunday as difficult because the second storm arrived immediately after the first.

The wind speeds were a primary obstacle for engineers. Gusts ranged from 50 to 70 mph in many areas and reached 85 mph in northern Scotland. Slade explained that crews could not safely replace poles or rehang wires until the wind dropped, a condition that did not occur until Monday.

The Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings for Monday and Tuesday. The first warning covers western coastal areas from Cornwall to south-west Scotland, running from 6 pm Monday to 3 am Tuesday. Forecasters expect gusts up to 65 mph and heavy rain in those exposed zones.

A second warning applies to most of Scotland from 3 am to 9 pm on Tuesday. Winds of 50 to 60 mph are expected, with gusts reaching 70 mph in the far north. The agency advised travelers to prepare for possible cancellations and road closures.

John Swinney, the first minister of Scotland, met with emergency teams and forecasters on Sunday to coordinate the response. On Monday, he posted on X to offer condolences to the families of the two men who died. He thanked emergency services for working through the night to keep the public safe.

Flooding caused significant damage in several communities. In Largs, water cascaded through the town center, reaching a height a resident said she had never seen in 36 years of living there. At the Tha-Tien-Thai restaurant, staff shared video of their kitchen underwater and announced the doors would close for an extended period for restoration.

Emergency services responded to a flooded care home in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, on Sunday evening. Police Scotland confirmed that everyone at the facility was accounted for and that officers would remain on site overnight. Road closures were put in place around the building.

The storms also disrupted travel and events. Flights were diverted or cancelled at Leeds Bradford, England’s highest airport. Most train services resumed normal operation, though operators told passengers to check before traveling. The Sunday horse racing meeting at Aintree was abandoned due to high winds.