Two storms slam northern Europe, cut power to 150,000 homes | Weather News
Storms Boelo and Austen Claim Life, Disrupt Power Across Europe
Published October 26, 2026
A pair of powerful storms sweeping through northern Europe have resulted in one fatality, left over 150,000 homes without power, and caused significant disruptions to transportation and communication networks.
Authorities confirmed that the storms, identified as Boelo and Austen, impacted the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, with more than 82,000 households in the UK, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany experiencing power outages on Sunday.
In southwestern Scotland, a 60-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on him during the storm. Additionally, two women sustained injuries from a similar incident in central Scotland, according to the Press Association. Winds reached speeds of up to 135 km/h (84 mph) in the Argyll and Bute regions, toppling trees and power lines that blocked roads and rail services across Scotland and northern England. In Brighton, on the southern coast of England, storm Austen dislodged an unused pier on Friday.
Authorities have issued warnings about flood risks in Scotland and England. The UK’s Met Office cautioned that Boelo posed a danger to life due to flying debris and crashing waves, urging residents to stay indoors whenever possible.
Widespread Impact Across France and Germany
As the storms advanced across the English Channel, they brought significant challenges to Europe. In France, energy company Enedis reported that at the height of storm Austen on Saturday, approximately 288,000 homes were without power. By midday Sunday, about 59,000 remained affected, primarily in Normandy and Brittany. A marathon runner in northern France was lightly injured by a fallen tree during the storm.
In Germany, storm Austen caused power outages impacting 10,000 homes in the Freiburg-Breisgau area, prompting the local hospital to restrict services to emergency cases due to the blackout, which also disrupted mobile phone networks. German police reported two individuals were seriously injured on Saturday when scaffolding was blown over at a market in Nastatten.
The storms also caused damage in the Netherlands and Belgium, where falling trees resulted in injuries to four people in Brussels on Saturday. In the Netherlands, three crew members of a freight ship were injured during the storms; two were airlifted to a mainland hospital for treatment.
The storms canceled or diverted hundreds of flights across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of the busiest airports in the region.
Experts continue to emphasize the increasing frequency of extreme weather events as a potential consequence of climate change.
