Network Rail implemented speed restrictions on major routes to and from Aberdeen, between Glasgow Central and Carlisle and between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley as Storm Austen brought heavy rain across Scotland on Friday 23 October 20261. A number of ferry services were cancelled that day, with all sailings between Largs and Cumbrae cancelled and disruption to routes in Mallaig and Lochaline1.
The first warning for heavy rain came into force for central, southern and north-east Scotland at 6am on Friday and will run until midnight1. The Met Office says accumulations of 20-40mm are expected widely within the warning area through this period, with 60-80mm possible in some locations1. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has 11 flood alerts in place in the same areas where the Met Office's yellow warning is in place1. Police Scotland confirmed the B9071 is closed between Garderhouse and the Reawick junction in Skeld, Shetland, following a landslide, and drivers are urged to avoid the area1.
The Met Office has upgraded the yellow warning for Storm Boelo to an amber "danger to life" alert, covering the whole of the mainland from 9pm on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday1. That is additional to the yellow warning for winds between noon on Saturday and Sunday evening, which covers all of Scotland1. Disruption is expected on road, rail, air and ferry services, with fairly widespread gusts of 60 to 70 mph and gusts to 80 mph in exposed coastal areas1. The strongest winds will initially affect western Scotland and far north of Northern Ireland on Saturday evening and then spread eastwards overnight and through Sunday1. Forecasters are warning of a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings, and the Met Office said some damage to buildings and trees, such as tiles blown from roofs and large branches or trees blown over, could happen1.
The areas covered by Friday's yellow rain warning are listed as Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian1.
STV News weather presenter Philip Petrie said:
"We currently have a yellow weather warning covering the whole of Scotland from 6pm Saturday until 9pm Sunday where widely we could see gusts of 55-60mph and some higher ground areas and coastal parts seeing gusts of 80mph."
The same report describes Storm Austen as the first named storm of the season, forecast to bring gusts of 50-60mph to southern areas of the UK, and notes that the first and second named storms of the season hit the UK in the space of two days1.
Why it matters for households
Households across the whole of mainland Scotland are affected by the amber wind warning from 9pm on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday, with a yellow wind warning covering all of Scotland from noon on Saturday1. The Met Office expects disruption to road, rail, air and ferry services, and warns of a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings1. Sepa's 11 flood alerts are in place in the areas covered by Friday's rain warning1. Police Scotland has urged drivers to avoid the closed B9071 in Shetland following the landslide1. Households planning to travel over the weekend can read our guidance on whether to delay a journey in bad weather and on trains, buses and bridge closures in bad weather; the storms and snow hub covers wider preparation, and the staying informed hub explains how to follow official warnings.
What happens next
Storm Boelo will move away finally overnight Sunday into Monday, when the winds start to ease and die out, according to Philip Petrie of STV News1.
Delaying Journeys in Bad Weather
Travel Disruption in Bad Weather
