Wind gusts stall repairs for 90,000 UK homes after storms

Ninety thousand properties in northern Britain remained dark on Monday morning following a weekend of severe weather. Forecasters warned that strong winds would return, potentially delaying further repairs to the electrical grid.

Storms Austen and Boelo struck in rapid succession, causing flooding, travel disruptions, and power outages. Authorities confirmed two deaths attributed to falling trees. A 60-year-old man died in Dumfries and Galloway, and a man in his 20s died in Finchley, north London.

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the Energy Networks Association, stated that operators restored power to approximately 700,000 customers from Friday through Sunday. He described the period as difficult because the second storm arrived before crews could fully recover from the first.

Slade noted that wind gusts reached 50 to 70 mph across the region, with peaks of 85 mph in northern Scotland. He explained that engineers cannot safely replace poles or reset wires until the weather system moves through. "Until that weather system passes we can't safely get engineers out to replace poles, to get wires back up etc.," he told BBC Radio 4.

The Met Office issued two yellow weather warnings for the coming hours. The first covers western coastal areas from Cornwall to south-west Scotland from 6pm Monday to 3am Tuesday. Gusts of up to 65 mph and heavy rain are expected in exposed areas. The second warning covers most of Scotland from 3am to 9pm Tuesday, with winds of 50 to 60 mph and gusts up to 70 mph in the far north.

Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, met with senior officials and emergency teams on Sunday. On Monday, he posted on X that he offered his condolences to the families of the two victims. He also thanked emergency services for working through the night.

Flooding affected several locations, including Largs town centre, where water rushed through the streets. A resident described it as the highest level she had seen in 36 years. The restaurant Tha-Tien-Thai in the area reported a flooded kitchen and said it would remain closed for the foreseeable future. Emergency services responded to a flooded care home in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, on Sunday evening. Police Scotland confirmed all residents were accounted for and officers stayed on site overnight. Some flights were diverted from Leeds Bradford, and most train services were returning to normal. Racing at Aintree was abandoned on Sunday due to high winds.