Storm Austen and Storm Boelo leave deaths, outages and disruption

Austen was the first named storm of the season. On October 20, the Guardian reported forecasts of gusts reaching 60mph across southern parts of the UK later that week.

The warnings became more serious as the storm approached. By October 21, an amber wind warning covered South West England for Friday, with gusts of up to 80mph expected, according to Sky News. In Ireland, the weather service warned of possible flooding and travel disruption, the BBC reported.

On October 22, Ireland was preparing for intense overnight rain, with warnings for 18 counties and a nationwide yellow warning running until 10am, according to the Irish Times. Scotland also faced a yellow rain warning across much of its central and eastern areas, the BBC reported.

Austen hit southern Britain on October 23. The BBC reported more than 15,000 homes without power across southern England and Wales and gusts reaching 84mph. Schools closed in the south-west, according to the Guardian, while Euronews reported fallen branches blocking roads in southern England.

A second storm was already approaching. On October 23, the Irish Times reported that Ireland was bracing for Boelo while cleanup after Austen continued, with orange and yellow warnings for further strong winds and heavy rain.

By October 24, Boelo was disrupting travel and forcing event cancellations in the UK as amber warnings came into force, the Guardian reported. In the Republic of Ireland, roads closed and County Kerry was under an orange rain warning that morning, according to the BBC.

On October 25, the Guardian reported that more than 82,000 properties had lost power as Boelo battered Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, and ferry and train services were also halted, according to The Independent. The Irish Times separately reported thousands of homes without power in Ireland.

The toll became clearer on Monday, October 26. Two people had been killed by falling trees on Sunday, and tens of thousands of properties remained without electricity after flooding and damage, according to the Guardian.

The BBC reported around 90,000 properties without power after strong winds battered Scotland and northern England. That Monday figure follows the earlier report of more than 82,000 properties affected on Sunday; the supplied coverage does not establish an exact like-for-like comparison.

The immediate problem is no longer just the arrival of another storm. Communities are dealing with the damage and outages left by two storms in quick succession, while the Met Office has issued a new wind warning, the BBC reported.

Power restoration and the new wind warning are the main developments to follow. The latest BBC coverage does not give a restoration deadline or specify the warning's full area and duration, leaving uncertainty about when affected communities will return to normal.