Storm Boelo has swept across the UK with gusts of up to 84mph, flooding, fallen trees and power cuts, after the River Ely burst its banks in Cardiff and hundreds of homes were left without electricity.
BBC Wales reported that the strongest gust, 84mph, was recorded at Capel Curig in Conwy county, where 54.6mm of rain fell in a single day. Natural Resources Wales had four flood warnings in force for the River Ely, and Cowbridge Road in the Ely area of Cardiff was closed because of high water.
The power network took a heavy hit. Around 555 homes in Rhayader, Powys, lost electricity, roughly 100 more went dark across south Wales, and SP Energy said it was working through 14 separate outages in the north and mid of the country.
Boelo did not stop at the Welsh border. Overnight winds touched 85mph in Scotland, homes across Cumbria and the North East were cut off, and about 400 people were evacuated from a caravan park in Preston. Flights were grounded in Belfast and Dublin.
Travel ground to a halt
Transport for Wales replaced several train services with buses, with the line blocked between Cardiff Central and Bridgend and flooding reported between Bridgend and Maesteg. Fallen trees shut roads from Roath in Cardiff to the A470 in the north.
At sea it was no better. Stena Line and Irish Ferries each cancelled Holyhead to Dublin sailings, and the Pembroke to Rosslare crossing was called off, with later departures left in doubt.
Storm Boelo follows hard on Storm Austen
Boelo is the second named storm of the 2026 to 2027 season, arriving just days after Storm Austen, which brought an amber wind warning to the south-west of England. This season’s names run alphabetically from Austen and Boelo through Chloe, Dano and Evelyn, all the way to Wende.
Austen’s amber warning covered Cornwall, Devon, the Isles of Scilly and Plymouth, with a wider yellow warning stretching across the South East, the South West and Wales, so the south coast has felt the same unsettled run of weather.
What it means for the south coast
Portsmouth and the wider Solent escaped the worst of Boelo, but the sea has been anything but calm. The RNLI urged anyone heading to the coast to keep well back from the water, and that advice reads as a timely reminder for Southsea seafront too.
Ross Macleod, the RNLI’s water safety manager, said people should avoid “unnecessary risks” near the shore, warning that conditions “could knock you off your feet or wash you into the sea”. Natural Resources Wales went further for those already hit, telling residents they “might have to leave your home if it is safe to do so”.
The Met Office expects the unsettled spell to drag on into the new week, in line with our earlier look at how storms were lining up for the UK into Halloween. Our news page is tracking each new warning as it lands, so the picture for the south coast should become clearer over the coming days.
