Storm Boelo Closes Edinburgh Castle, Cancels Liverpool Light Festival as 75mph Gusts Hit Scotland

Storm Boelo brought 75mph gusts to Scotland and disrupted travel across the north this weekend.

The Met Office put amber warnings in place from 9pm Saturday to 9pm Sunday for mainland Scotland and northern England down to Carlisle. A separate amber warning covered north-east Northern Ireland from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday. Yellow wind warnings extended south into parts of England and North Wales and covered all of Northern Ireland. Forecasters expected gusts of 60 to 70mph across the warning zones, with exposed coastal sites potentially reaching 80mph.

Before the amber warnings took hold, the South Uist Range in the Western Isles recorded 75mph gusts, as did the Highland and Eilean Siar regions. Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said the storm would be felt across the UK, with the strongest winds and greatest potential for disruption in the north. He advised staying indoors where possible to avoid flying debris and crashing waves, securing loose outdoor items, and planning travel ahead.

Storm Boelo is the second named storm of the season, after Storm Austen hit parts of the UK on Friday. Austen brought 76mph gusts to St Mary's airport in the Isles of Scilly, 74mph at Aberporth in south-west Wales, and 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall. National Grid reported power restored to more than 131,000 properties by 7pm Saturday, though hundreds of homes in south-west England remained without power.

Rainfall since 8am Saturday reached 72mm at White Barrow in Wiltshire, 43mm at Cwm Dyli in North Wales, and 43mm at Inveruglas on the west shore of Loch Lomond. The Environment Agency had issued 58 flood alerts for areas across England by 8pm Saturday, plus 12 warnings where flooding was expected in specific locations.

Transport and events took hits from the weather. At Dublin airport, airlines cancelled nine outbound and ten inbound flights as of 4pm Saturday; six inbound flights performed go-arounds, with five landing on a second attempt and one diverting before returning. Network Rail shared images of a trampoline and a shed near the tracks and asked residents to secure garden furniture.

Visit Liverpool cancelled its River of Light event for safety reasons. London's Diwali on the Square celebrations, scheduled for Sunday, were called off after recommendations from independent health and safety experts. Edinburgh Castle and the Fountains Abbey estate in North Yorkshire closed on Sunday, where the Fountains by Floodlight event had been planned.