A 60-year-old man has been killed by a falling tree as Storm Boelo battered Scotland with winds of up to 85mph, flooding coastal towns and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.
Police Scotland said the man was struck by a tree on a minor road at Mid Kelton near Castle Douglas, Dumfries, at around 10.30am on Sunday. "The man was pronounced dead at the scene," a spokesperson said. "There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course."
It is the first death of the storm, which has swept across the UK this weekend with gusts of 82mph on the island of Tiree and 85mph at Machrihanish in Argyll and Bute.
Towns under water, 80,000 homes dark
The coastal town of Largs in Ayrshire was left submerged by seawater at high tide, with video showing water surging through shops and businesses on the high street. Business owner Toni Dawson said the water was at its "highest level ever". Irvine and Saltcoats were also left underwater after a night of battering waves.
Across Britain, more than 80,000 households were left without power at the height of the storm, the Energy Networks Association said. About 40,000 households were affected across the north of England, while Scottish providers reported some 29,000 customers without power. Since the storms began on Friday, workers have restored power to almost 350,000 customers, but around 40,000 in Scotland were still cut off on Sunday afternoon, the Scottish Government's Resilience Room heard.
Travel was thrown into chaos. The Queensferry Crossing, the M90 and the Clackmannanshire Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles, the Dornoch Bridge near Tain was closed to all vehicles, and Network Rail Scotland warned that multiple railways had been damaged or flooded. Flights from Belfast City airport to Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester and Kirkwall were cancelled, and two ferry services between Dover and Calais were cancelled.
Aintree Racecourse abandoned its Halloween Family Day, including the William Hill Old Roan Chase, as the storm swept in.
A third storm in four days
Boelo is the second named storm to hit the UK in three days, after Storm Austen brought heavy rain on Friday. The Met Office has warned of a third: a new tempest set to be called Chloe is hurtling across the Atlantic, with a yellow wind warning kicking in at 3am on Tuesday and lasting until midnight. All of Scotland — save for Shetland — has been told to expect winds of up to 70mph.
"As we experience a third consecutive day of weather warnings with continued strong winds forecast until later today, it is important that people keep up to date on the impact the conditions are having in their local area," said Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville. "Disruption to travel is likely to continue into tomorrow."
An amber wind warning remains in force until 9pm on Sunday, with forecasters warning of gusts of more than 80mph as the storm undergoes "explosive cyclogenesis".
Why it matters
Three named storms in four days is an extraordinary run for late October — and Boelo has already claimed a life, flooded towns and cut power to tens of thousands. With another storm on its way on Tuesday and repair crews still working through the damage, the UK's storm season has arrived early and violently.
Reporting based on The Times, The Scottish Sun, The Sun and the Leigh Journal.