A 60-year-old man has been killed by a falling tree near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway as Storm Boelo left 82,600 properties without power.
Police Scotland said officers were called to a minor road at Mid Kelton at about 10.30am on Sunday.
A spokesperson said: ‘We were made aware of a 60-year-old man having been struck by a falling tree on a minor road at Mid Kelton at about 10.30am on Sunday, 25 October 2026.
‘The man was pronounced dead at the scene. There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.’
A man in his 20s also died after a tree fell onto his moving car in Mill Hill, north London. Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, of the Metropolitan Police’s North West Command Unit, called it ‘a deeply tragic incident’.
He said: ‘Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life.’
The Energy Networks Association said engineers had reconnected 344,900 customers but 82,600 remained cut off on Sunday. More than 30,000 of those were in Scotland.
The ENA said severe weather was limiting opportunities to start restoring power safely and that access to some areas remained difficult. It added: ‘Engineers are working around the clock to identify and fix faults.’
By 5pm, about 53,000 homes in Scotland were still without electricity, according to SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
Image: Gennady Grachev from Moscow, Russia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The Met Office amber wind warning for Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England came into force at 9pm on Saturday. Gusts hit 84mph in Argyll and Bute, 83mph in Snowdonia (Eryri) and 82mph on Tiree.
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: ‘Storm Boelo will be felt across the UK this weekend, with the strongest winds and greatest potential for disruption in the north.’
The forecaster warned of a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves, and told people to stay indoors as much as possible.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney met senior politicians, emergency agencies and forecasters as the Scottish government’s resilience room discussed the outages and how power was being restored.
Scottish social justice and housing secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: ‘Disruption to travel is likely to continue into tomorrow and I strongly recommend people check official sources such as the Met Office, Traffic Scotland, transport operators and local authority channels before setting out.’
Network Rail Scotland shared an image of floodwater from the tracks to the platform at Dalmarnock station in Glasgow. Several sections of Scotland’s railways were closed and speed restrictions were in place.
A fallen tree blocked the line between Liverpool and Manchester. Network Rail also shared pictures of a trampoline beneath a train and a shed by the tracks, urging people living near railways to secure garden objects.
The Queensferry Crossing, the M90 and the Clackmannanshire Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles, with a 30mph limit for other traffic.
Seventeen flights were cancelled at Belfast International by Sunday lunchtime, while some services were diverted from Leeds Bradford Airport. CalMac cancelled 24 of its 30 services.
In Largs, North Ayrshire, floodwater poured through the main street. Shop owner Toni Dawson told Sky News: ‘We’re trying to clear out as much of the debris as we can and board up the front of the shop and put some sandbags there.’
Events were called off, including Liverpool’s River of Light and London’s Diwali on the Square. Edinburgh Castle was closed because of the high winds.
The Environment Agency had issued six flood warnings and 50 flood alerts for northern England, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 17 flood warnings and 11 alerts in force.
Storm Boelo followed Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought 76mph gusts to St Mary’s airport in the Isles of Scilly on Friday.
Forecasters are monitoring another low-pressure system that will bring more wet and windy weather on Monday and Tuesday. It is not expected to be as strong as Austen or Boelo and there are no plans to name it.
Sources
Main image: Brataffe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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