Storm Boelo leaves 22,000 without power as Met Office issues new wind warning

A clean-up operation is under way in parts of the UK after Storm Boelo caused flooding and property damage, leaving thousands without power.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said around 22,600 properties are still without power as of Monday afternoon.

Two men were killed by falling trees during the storm on Sunday - a man in his 20s whose car was hit in north London and a 60-year-old man in Dumfries and Galloway identified as Richard Baines, the long-serving curator of Logan Botanic Garden.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for strong winds from 18:00 on Monday to 03:00 on Tuesday across the west coast of England, Wales and Scotland and eastern parts of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office has warned that further power cuts in areas covered by the warning are likely and people should make sure they have essentials prepared, including torches and batteries.

Coastal communities could also be affected by spray or large waves, while travel delays are expected.

Boelo is the second storm to have hit parts of the UK in recent days, following Storm Austen.

Leo Slade, CEO of the ENA said it had been "a tough weekend" and that efforts to reconnect some properties were being hampered by the weather, with sustained winds of 50-85mph across parts of Scotland and northern England.

"Until that weather system passes, we can't safely get engineers out to replace poles, to get wires back up, so today is going to be a hive of activity in getting engineers out into the field," Slade told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He stressed that the UK's power network was very resilient and money was spent to prepare for these sorts of scenarios, but said a debate was needed over how much more investment was required to mitigate for further storms brought by climate change.

(BBC article continues)

It does but I fear you'll need to revisit the heading for a third time, given the as yet un-named storm that tracks up the west coast, albeit with its centre out to sea. It's expected to modify the height of the sea, and not in a good way especially given that we are at springs. Cue a slew of tide height warnings from today and with more tomorrow, particularly for Cumbria and Scotland, but elsewhere too.

I have expanded the heading of this topic, to reflect the fact that both of these named storms are so closely related - purely in the interests of clarity and continuity here on the Coffee Shop forum, as ever.

Hope this helps. CfN. 

I absolutely agree! 

I think it would be also great if Lisa (who is already a signed up member of the Coffee Shop forum) could please be encouraged to post her own observations on their travels in Spain and Portugal here directly.

Chris from Melksham - it's a long story. 

The late 1980s and early 1990s were the Wild West of bus deregulation.

I remember the town routes in Taunton having THREE competing operators. ...

A more recent example from Royal Wootton Bassett in 2017. 

[snip]

Personally as a fellow disabled person, if I knew I had to speak with someone face to face, and I knew I could not gain access through the station, I would make the correct plans to enter as I would have done at Temple Meads for the past years.

People need to remember that the station is not a right of passage, and just because we have a disabled pass, that does not give us a free pass to break rules etc, sometimes we have to take a bit of responsinilty

Cranes begin removing ageing rail footbridge


Hampshire County Council said the new crossing would be "more accessible for cyclists, wheelchair and mobility scooter users" - Image © Hampshire County Council

A major crane operation has began to replace a 79-year-old footbridge with a modern accessible crossing.

Hampshire County Council said removing the ageing structure at Havant train station, located between Elmleigh Road and North Street, was scheduled between Monday and Thursday and would be "one of the most significant and visible stages of the project".

The authority said two large cranes would dismantle and remove the 185-metre-long bridge and connecting ramps in a series of planned lifts.

The replacement is expected to take up to 12 months to complete and the new crossing is envisioned to be more accessible for cyclists, wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

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43 minutes Shrub Hill to Charlbury, 59 minutes Shrub Hill to Oxford, 1hr54 Shrub Hill to Paddington. That's pretty good.

An update, from the BBC:

Body found in search for man who fell overboard from ferry

The body of a missing ferry passenger who fell overboard has been found on a beach in North Ayrshire.

HM Coastguard responded to a report of a man going overboard from the MV Caledonian Isles near Arran about 20:30 on Sunday 18 October.

The man was later named as 82-year-old Jim Wither, who was reported missing from Johnstone, Renfrewshire.

Police Scotland earlier received a report that the body of a man had been found in the Largs beach area on Sunday. Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Jim Wither has been informed.

Two helicopters, a coastguard aircraft, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats and rescue teams from the surrounding area were sent to find the passenger, but the search was called off at 16:55 on Monday.

Officers said the death was not being treated as suspicious and a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.

10:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 12:23 will no longer call at Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Pershore, Honeybourne, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham and Hanborough.
It will be starting late from Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

20:52 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 23:00 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Shrub Hill due 09:31

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Shrub Hill due 09:31 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Salisbury and Warminster.
This is due to a broken down train.

From WikiPedia

Two men killed by falling trees as Storm Boelo leaves 160,000 properties without power

Two men have been killed by falling trees on Sunday as Storm Boelo continues to bring severe weather to the UK.

A man in his 20s was pronounced dead in north London after the car he was driving was hit by a falling tree. It came hours after a 60-year-old man died in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

The harsh weather battering the UK had left 161,400 properties without power as of 15:00 GMT on Sunday afternoon, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) said.  Those still without electricity have faced delays as the dangerous conditions were "limiting network engineers' opportunities to safely start the work", the ENA added.

The Metropolitan Police were called to Dollis Road in Finchley at around 12:40 GMT to reports a tree had fallen onto a moving car, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, from the North West Command Unit, said: "This is a deeply tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life."  A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said it sent incident response officers, paramedics from its hazardous area response team, and a trauma team from London's Air Ambulance to the scene.

Earlier, Police Scotland said a man died after being hit by a falling tree in southern near Castle Douglas.

During Storm Boelo and the earlier Storm Austen, which hit the UK on Friday, 838,700 properties across the country faced power cuts, according to the ENA.

Wind gusts peaked on Sunday morning at 85mph in Machrihanish, in Argyll and Bute, and 84mph in both Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, and Capel Curig in north Wales.

An amber wind warning issued by the Met Office was in place until 21:00 on Sunday across Scotland and parts of northern England.

A yellow warning that also covered other areas of the north of England, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as parts of the East and West Midlands and North Wales, also expired at 21:00.

The Met Office urged people to "stay indoors as much as possible", adding: "If you do go out, try not to walk, or shelter, close to buildings and trees."

The strongest gusts have continued to spread eastwards across the UK on Sunday.

(BBC article continues)