Storm Boelo cuts power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Europe

Storm Boelo has swept across Western Europe: wind gusts in Scotland reached 135 km/h, and more than 82,000 households in the United Kingdom were left without electricity. At least another 70,000 homes are without power in France and Germany, authorities in both countries say.

Wind, rain and power cuts

Meteorologists recorded a gust of 135 km/h at a station in Argyll and Bute in western Scotland, above the threshold for a hurricane. The wind brought down trees and power lines, halting road and rail traffic across Scotland. Heavy rain in northern England caused small rivers to burst their banks.

The bad weather had started earlier: on Friday, strong winds accompanying the deep low-pressure system Storm Austin tore away part of the pier in Brighton on England's south coast. According to the British energy networks association, more than 400,000 households lost power during the two storms.

Since Friday the wind has also been lashing northern France and the English Channel. The French energy company said that around 288,000 homes were without power on Saturday, at the peak of Austin, and about 59,000 people in Normandy and Brittany on Sunday afternoon. 2,600 technicians are now working to restore supply.

Injuries and cancelled flights

On Sunday the storm also clipped Germany: in Freiburg im Breisgau in the southwest, 10,000 households lost power. The city's main hospital said the outage, which also cut off mobile service, forced it to restrict the electricity supply to emergency cases only.

On Saturday two people were injured when scaffolding collapsed at an autumn fair in Nastätten in Rhineland-Palatinate. In the Benelux countries, falling trees injured four people.

Hundreds of flights across northwestern Europe had to be rerouted or cancelled. Amsterdam's busy Schiphol Airport cancelled dozens of flights to European cities on Sunday, including Paris, Rome and Dublin.

Monday should bring a brief lull, but on Tuesday another deep low-pressure system will arrive over the British Isles: especially in Scotland, gusts will again exceed 118 km/h, which is hurricane force.

Around Prague guide on the topic: Compensation for delayed and cancelled flights in the EU: up to €600 in 2026

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz