UK weather live: 28 areas on flood alert as Storm Boelo set to bring 80mph winds

UK weather live: 28 areas on flood alert as Storm Boelo set to bring 80mph winds The Met Office has issued 'danger to life' amber weather warnings for Storm Boelo, which arrives just after Storm Austen caused serious damage in the South West Storm Boelo is set to bring 80mph winds and 'widespread travel disruption' to the UK this weekend, with forecasters warning of potential flooding, power cuts and problems on the roads. One amber warning for wind, two yellow warnings for wind and a yellow warning for rain will cover different areas across the UK this weekend. It comes after Storm Austen led to airports being closed, flights cancelled and even Brighton's iconic West Pier partially collapsing. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned on Friday that the UK could face “a winter of greater flooding” and said we are living in a world where “unexpected events” are “more and more common”. An amber weather warning is in place across Scotland today, along with the north of England down to Carlisle and the north-east of Northern Ireland. It comes just a day after Storm Austen battered the South West of England, with schools closed and 31,000 homes at one point left without power yesterday. Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “Yesterday’s Storm Austen affected the far south of the UK and northern France and the Channel Islands, whereas today’s Storm Boelo will be affecting the north of the UK." Key Events 'Avoid coastal paths', Environment Agency warns Ahead of another day where flooding is likely, the Environment Agency has reminded walkers to avoid coastal paths and take sensible precautions before heading out in the storm. A11 is now clear Good newd from East Anglia - the A11 incident from a few hours ago has now cleared. Roads 'especially bad' in October half-term holiday hotspot Cumbria Police have confirmed it received a number of calls about localised flooding and trees blocking the roads overnight - but it says the situation is 'especially bad' in Ambleside, a popular half-term holiday hotspot in the Lake District. Chef James Martin shelters from the storm James Martin, British chef and television presenter, best known for his television work with the cookery series Saturday Kitchen from 2006 until 2016 has shared an adorable photo of him and his dog Cooper taking shelter indoors while the storm passes. Which storms get a name? The Met Office says British storms will be named then they have 'the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning'. It adds: "This is based on our National Severe Weather Warnings service, which is a combination of both the impact the weather may have, and the likelihood of those impacts occurring. "Storms will usually be named on the basis of the impacts from strong winds, but the impacts of other weather types will also be considered. For example rain, if its impact could lead to flooding as advised by the Environment Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales flood warnings, or snow. Therefore 'storm systems' could be named on the basis of impacts from the wind but also include the impacts of rain and snow." Why are storms named? The Met Office started naming storms in 2015, and the forecasters said it starting doing so to 'provide a consistent message and aids the communication of approaching severe weather through media partners and other government agencies'. It adds: "In this way the public will be better placed to keep themselves, their property and businesses safe." The storm names are compiled by the Met Office, Met Éireann (Ireland's froecaster), and KNMI (the Dutch national weather forecasting service) - but you can submit your own suggestions via this online form. Major A-road closed in Westmorland It looks like the A66 - the major A-road connecting the east and west coasts of England in the north of the country - is closed to all vehicles this evening. It was closed to HGVs earlier today. Those of you planning on heading from Newcastle to Carlisle will need to find another route. Warning to rail passengers in major UK city Merseyrail, the firm operating Liverpool's regional train network, has warned some of its first services on Sunday will run without passngers to clear the tracks and check routes are okay for travel. So if you need to use Merseyrail early in the morning on Sunday, it might be worth finding alternative plans just in case. A14 cleared The incident on the A14 in Suffolk we reported on a few minutes ago has now been resolved. Police have cleared the road and traffic is moving again, National Highways said. However, the two incidents on the A11 in Norfolk and Suffolk still appear to be presenting problems. How the UK was battered by rain The Met Office weather radar has shown how the UK was battered by rain on Saturday - and revealed which towns were wettest, coldest, and warmest. Two roads closed in East Anglia by falling trees within moments of one another Two major A-roads have been closed by falling trees and power cables in East Anglia in the last few minutes - the A11 in Norfolk and A14 in Suffolk. Police are on the scene of both incidents. Traffic is building in the area, and a diversion is in place for the A11. It's worth saying the A11 remains closed in another spot in Suffolk after a lorry overturned earler this evening, so it's wise to check first if you're planning on driving in that part of the country. Electricity grid warns worst is still yet to come The National Grid has warned the worst weather is still yet to come, with the storm being most active in the early hours of Sunday, it said. National Grid engineers have already reconnected 13,000 homes that lost power, but many are still facing power cuts. Met Office weather warnings and flood alerts in full Amber warnings signal the risk of damaging winds, while heavy downpours have left rivers rising. Flood warnings cover locations across England, Wales and Scotland as the storm continues into Sunday. Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: “People should prepare for the potential for disruption, particularly to travel and power supplies.” The unsettled weather is set to continue, with another yellow wind warning issued for Tuesday, October 27. It covers Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland and northern England from 3am until 11.59pm. Further disruption is possible, although forecasters said uncertainty remained over where the strongest gusts would hit. UK Power Networks: 'strong winds up to 62mph are making it unsafe for our engineers' Dozens of flood warnings in place as Storm Boelo brings torrential rain Flood alerts have been put in place across 13 areas of England and Wales with a further 29 in Scotland. The Environment Agency says: "Local river flooding is possible for parts of the north of England on Sunday. "Local inland flooding impacts are possible but not expected elsewhere. Land, roads and some properties could flood and there could be travel disruption. "Local coastal/tidal flooding is probable for the coasts of northwest and southwest England on Monday and Tuesday". The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has 29 flood warnings and 11 flood alerts in place while Natural Resources Wales has issued six flood warnings and 47 flood alerts. Two amber danger to life warnings start amid high winds Two amber warnings for strong winds have started in northern parts of the UK and Northern Ireland. They both carry danger to life warnings over flying debris. A post from the Met Office reads: "Two amber wind warnings now begin across much of Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. Strong and damaging wind gusts are likely, with both warnings remaining in place into Sunday." It states: Flying debris is likely and could lead to injuries or danger to life." National Grid continues to restore power after thousands of homes without electricity Hundreds of thousands of homes have been left without power and work continues to restore electricity. National Grid states: "Our teams are still out working hard to restore power to affected customers. We’re making progress, but the heavy rain we’re experiencing is making conditions more challenging. "Despite that, our engineers remain out on the network doing everything they can to get supplies restored safely." It earlier said: "Our teams have restored power to 131,225 properties affected by Storm Austen, and work continues." Ryanair flight unable to land in UK diverted to Norway Passengers on a Ryanair flight to Edinburgh have been diverted to Oslo amid bad weather in the UK. Flight tracking data shows Flight FR7644 which set off from Faro in Portugal for Edinbugh, but appeared to circle over the Scottish capital before the pilot decided instead to land in Norway. The north of the UK is being battered by Storm Boelo, where gusts could reach more than 80mph. Huge downpours with 72mm of rain falling today in one UK area Huge downpours have seen 72mm fall in White Barrow, Dartmoor, where the average for the month of October is 304mm. The Met Office states: "Rain totals continue to build, here is what we have recorded since 8am this morning." And it gives a list where Cwm Dyli and Inveruglas have seen 43mm fall. Strongest winds of 75mph so far with gusts set to increase The Met Office says that the strongest gusts so far have been 75mph in the UK and they are set to get more powerful. It states: "Wind gusts will continue to increase through this evening, but here are the highest gusts recorded so far from Storm Boelo." Gusts of 75mph have been recorded at South Uist Range in the Outer Hebrides while they reached 71mph in Inverbervie. Gales of 68mph have also hit Aberdaron in North Wales. Tornado hit Hampshire as UK battered by storm A "weak" tornado has reportedly hit Hampshire with the country battered by storms. The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation says that Porchester was hit by the tornado shortly after midnight and travelled nearly a mile. It stated on X: "A weak tornado affected Portchester, Hampshire, just after midnight on 23 October, with a 1.6 km land track. It was associated with heavy showers that moved inland from the Channel, linked to Storm Austen. More details to follow after the analysis has concluded." Rail line closed between Carlisle and Kilmarnock due to flooding ScotRail says that the rail line between Carlisle and Kilmarnock has been closed due to the weather. It states: "The line is now closed from Kilmarnock to Carlisle due to flooding between Kirkconnel and Sanquhar. Glasgow Central to Dumfries/Carlisle services will terminate and start back Kilmarnock." In a separate post it also said on X: "We have reports of subsidence in the Gorebridge area which has resulted in the line being closed through the area. @NetworkRailSCOT staff are on their way to investigate. We’ll keep you updated." Maps shows storm moving across UK A Met Office map shows Storm Boelo moving across the UK tonight with an amber warning in place. The national weather agency states: "Storm Boelo is dominating the weather story this evening. Widely wet and very windy, with damaging gusts likely across the north of the UK." M48 Severn Bridge is closed due to strong winds National Highways says that the M48 Severn Bridge is closed due to the severe winds with people being diverted to the M4. It states: "#M48 both directions in #Gloucestershire between J1 #Bristol & J2 #Chepstow. - The Bridge is closed due to strong winds. - Traffic is being diverted via the #M4 Prince of Wales Bridge." Satellite image shows Storm Boelo sitting right over UK A satellite image shows Storm Boelo lying right over the country. It is the second named storm of the season right after Austen, which has a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and people should stay indoors as much as possible, says the Met Office. Network Rail shared images of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, in a call for those living near rail lines to secure their garden furniture firmly. Brits facing gusts that could exceed 80mph Storm Boelo’s strong winds and heavy, frequent showers are battering northern parts of the UK with gusts potentially exceeding 80mph. A yellow wind warning for parts of Northern Ireland came into force at 10am and will run until midday tomorrow. Another for heavy rain covers Wales and parts of western and southern England until 11pm Saturday. The winds will pick up during the day and an amber wind warning, the Met Office’s second most severe, is active across Scotland, the north of England down to Carlisle from 9pm Saturday to the same time on Sunday. A further amber warning runs from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday in the north east of Northern Ireland. Major A-road closed due to Storm Boelo National Highways has just announced that it will be closing the A66 in Cumbria tonight due to Storm Boelo. The closure will be put in place from 8pm between the A67 at Bowes and the A685 at Brough. It is currently unknown when the road will be fit to reopen. The area will be covered by a yellow warning for rain and an amber warning for wind overnight. Railway line to Stansted Airport blocked by fallen tree People have been asked not to travel to Stansted Airport by train for the rest of the day as a fallen tree is blocking the railway. A spokesman for National Rail said: "There is a tree blocking the railway at Stansted Mountfitchet, meaning that all lines are blocked. "This is expected to cause major disruption until the end of the day. "If you're travelling with Greater Anglia or Stansted Express between Broxbourne and Stansted Airport, your train may be cancelled, delayed or revised. "You're advised not to travel between Bishops Stortford and Stansted Airport for the rest of the day." 28 flood alerts Besides the five flood alerts that have been issued, the environment agency has also released 28 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible and people should "be prepared". The 28 areas are: - Christchurch Harbour - Climping Seafront - Coastal areas of Seaford seafront - Coast at Barrow in Furness - Coast at Duddon estuary - Coast at North Morecambe Bay - Coast from Gretna to Silloth - Coast from Silloth to St Bees - Coast from St Bees Head to Haverigg - East coast of Dorset - Irish Sea from New Brighton to Hoylake - Mersey Estuary at Warrington - North Devon coast from Hartland Point to Lynmouth - North Sea coast at Bridlington - River Alt, Formby to Huyton - River Maun in Nottinghamshire - Rivers Caldew and Petteril - Rivers Cocker, Marron and Derwent - Rivers Duddon, Crake and Mill Beck - Rivers Ehen, Calder, Irt and Esk - River Sow and River Penk - Severn Estuary at Severn Beach - Somerset coast at Porlock Weir - South Cornwall coast from Gribbin Head to Rame Head - South Cornwall coast from Lizard Point to Gribbin Head excluding the Tidal Fal Estuary - Upper River Derwent, Stonethwaite Beck and Derwent Water - West coast of Dorset - West Dorset Rivers and Streams More flood warnings Four more flood warnings have been issued this afternoon for the Cumbrian coastline. The Environment Agency said: "High tides, strong winds and large waves are expected to cause flooding this evening." "Avoid seafronts and harbours due to wave overtopping and spray containing debris." Flooding is expected from 9pm tonight until 1am tomorrow and people should "act now". The warnings have been issued for: - Cumbrian coastline from Gretna to Silloth including Port Carlisle, Skinburness and Rockcliffe - Cumbrian coastline from Silloth to St Bees, between Allonby and Whitehaven - Cumbrian coastline from Silloth to St Bees including Maryport, Flimby, Workington and Whitehaven - Cumbrian coastline from St Bees Head to Haverigg, along the coast from North Head to Haverigg