Government emergency alert issued for RED wind warning on Isles of Scilly

The UK government sent an emergency alert to the Isles of Scilly at 3:03pm on Thursday 8 January 2026, warning that a RED wind warning had been issued for the islands¹. The alert said extremely strong winds were expected to cause significant disruption, with winds peaking from 4:00pm that day, and that strong winds can present a danger to life¹. The government stopped sending the alert at 11:06pm the same day¹.

A second alert was sent to large parts of Cornwall at 5:00pm on 8 January 2026, for a RED warning for wind with winds peaking from 6:00pm². It also warned of a danger to life and was stopped at 11:06pm². Both alerts noted that surrounding areas might also have received the message¹.

The government's message to both areas carried the same instruction:

The alert also directed people to keep up to date with Met Office warnings and to follow advice from emergency services, network operators and local authorities¹. The government's Emergency Alerts guide explains how the phone warning system works, and its guide to what to do when an alert arrives sets out the steps it gives. The Met Office warning levels page explains what yellow, amber and red warnings mean.

Why it matters for households

The alert reached phones in the Isles of Scilly and in large parts of Cornwall on the afternoon and evening of 8 January 2026, ahead of winds forecast to peak from 4:00pm and 6:00pm respectively¹. The government's message warned that strong winds can present a danger to life and advised people to stay indoors if they could¹. It also advised gathering torches and other essential items already at home, and following advice from emergency services, network operators and local authorities¹. The alert text did not state how long the red warning itself would last, and no further detail on expected wind speeds or on power cuts in the two areas has been reported in the pages published by the government¹.

The government's past alerts page records earlier red wind alerts for Storm Éowyn in January 2025 and Storm Darragh in December 2024, both of which warned that storms may damage infrastructure causing power cuts and disruption to mobile phone coverage, and advised gathering torches, batteries and a mobile phone power pack³. The 8 January 2026 alerts did not include that wording about power cuts and mobile coverage¹.

Households without a mobile phone, or whose device may not receive alerts, can find background in the guides on getting warnings without a mobile and on whether your phone will receive emergency alerts. The storms and snow hub covers preparation for high winds and winter disruption.

What happens next

The government stopped sending both alerts at 11:06pm on Thursday 8 January 2026¹. No further alerts for these areas, and no update on conditions on the Isles of Scilly or in Cornwall after that time, have been reported on the government's alert pages¹. The government's alert directs people to search online for gov.uk/alerts for more information¹.