Waves crash on to the beach at Black Rock in Brighton, England, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — High winds knocked out power to thousands of people in southwest England on Friday morning as the first of two major storms expected to hit the U.K. this weekend swept in from the Atlantic.

The U.K. Met Office issued an amber warning — the second highest — for wind gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph) in Cornwall and Devon as the storm named Austen by the agency moved into the area early Friday.

According to the National Grid, which distributes electricity around the U.K., more than 16,000 homes were without power in the southwest by late morning.

Winds up to 60 mph (100 kph) are forecast across southern and central England throughout the day as the storm moves eastward along the English Channel coast.

With heavy rain forecast in some areas and the likelihood that high winds will topple trees that are still in full leaf, the Met Office warned of further power outages and travel disruptions.

Weather forecasters on Jersey issued a red warning — the highest — for shipping around the Channel Islands, with wind gusts of up to 80 mph expected in the area.

A second major storm — Boelo — is expected to bring more wind and heavy rains to northern parts of the U.K. later in the weekend.

The Met Office updated its warning for Boelo from yellow to amber for Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England on Saturday night and throughout Sunday.

With winds gusting up to 65 mph (105 kph), forecasters are warning of further power cuts, transportation delays and the risk of building damage and flying debris.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned of the potential of more weather events that could lead to flooding this winter as he attended a summit organized to learn from the summer’s record wildfires.

“We potentially are facing a winter of greater flooding, so it’s about recognizing all of those risks and taking action," he said.

His comments come a day after the government launched a campaign urging Britons to prepare for an array of events, connected to such things as climate change, technological disruptions and actions by a hostile state. One of the key recommendations of the “Be Ready” campaign is that people stockpile supplies of food and essentials in case of multi-day emergencies.

The Met Office began naming major storms in 2015 as a way to keep the public informed about severe weather. Storms are named in alphabetical order throughout the season, which runs from September to the following August.

News from © The Associated Press, 2026