UK weather - live: Storms Malik and Corrie leave thousands without power after 90mph winds

Northern Powergrid, which supplies northern England, said around 80,000 customers were affected

Storm Corrie: Strong winds hit Isle of Islay in Scotland

Schools will be shut and thousands of people are without power after Storm Malik and Storm Corrie battered parts of the UK.

Gusts up to 93mph hit parts of northern England and Scotland over the weekend after back-to-back storms brought damage killing a nine-year-old boy from Staffordshire and a 60-year-old woman from Aberdeen.

Northern Powergrid, which supplies northern England, said around 80,000 customers were affected by Storm Malik, which brought winds of more than 90mph on Saturday.

Some 7,000 were still without power at 6.30pm on Sunday, although the company said that it hoped to cut that to 4,000 during the night.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "That is exceptionally strong for any time of the year and there is no wonder there were significant impacts such as power outages and damage to buildings. It is very unfortunate that things were worse than that for some people."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the impact of Storm Corrie is “likely to be significant”.

Key Points

• Thousands without power after back-to-back storms batter parts of UK
• 90mph gusts leave three dead over the weekend

[31 January 2022 07:55 · Thomas Kingsley]

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Storm Malik and Storm Corrie. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates from northern England and Scotland where 90mph gusts hit over the weekend.

[31 January 2022 07:59 · Thomas Kingsley]

Thousands still without power after back to back storms

Northern Powergrid, which supplies northern England, said around 80,000 customers were affected by Storm Malik, which brought winds of more than 90mph on Saturday.

Power companies have said they hope to have reconnected power to all but 11,500 households overnight following two weekend storms.

Some 7,000 were still without power at 6.30pm on Sunday, although the company said that it hoped to cut that to 4,000 during the night.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had 9,000 households without power in Scotland as at 8pm on Sunday, with plans to reconnect 1,500 of those overnight.

(Gregor Fulton/PA)

[31 January 2022 08:02 · Thomas Kingsley]

Storm Corrie heads to UK with 90mph winds one day after three killed in Storm Malik

Northern parts of the UK are braced for the second storm in two days after three people were killed in Storm Malik.

Storm Corrie is set to bring “very strong wind” and unsettled weather from today across Scotland.

The Met Office has put an amber weather warning in place for the east coast of Scotland and north-east England.

Our reporter, Lamiat Sabin, has the full report below:

[31 January 2022 08:08 · Thomas Kingsley]

Winds of up to 60mph hit parts of England as Storm Corrie continues

While the Met Office has predicted that the worst of Storm Corrie with its 90mph gusts is now behind us, it has also issued yellow storm warnings across North Sea coastal parts of England this morning.

[31 January 2022 08:20 · Thomas Kingsley]

Scotland Rail suspended as Storm Corrie damage checks take place

Scotland Rail has announced that it is still “dealing with the aftermath” of Storm Corrie as debris is removed from the railways and the line is checked for damage caused by the 90mph winds over the weekend.

“The worst of #StormCorrie has passed, but we're still dealing with the aftermath. NetworkRailScotare continuing to check lines for damage and remove any debris from the line. Every affected route needs to be checked in full before it can reopen,” Scotland Rail wrote on Twitter this morning.

Network Rail announced on Sunday morning that Scotland Rail services would close early on Sunday evening to protect from the incoming Storms.

[31 January 2022 08:35 · Thomas Kingsley]

Northern Powergrid arranges food and hot drinks for people without power

Northern Powergrid, which supplies most of northern England has arranged a food and hot drinks service for the thousands of households still without power due to the storms.

“Hello, it’s Northern Powergrid on Monday 31st January. We have organised for the provision of complimentary hot food & drinks to support households who are without power due to Storm Malik. The Street Diner food van is at the Kielder Post Office Hexham, NE48 1EQ from 09:00am,” Northern Powergrid wrote on its Twitter.

[31 January 2022 08:50 · Thomas Kingsley]

Storm Malik hits northern Europe with force; at least 4 dead

A powerful winter storm swept through northern Europe over the weekend, killing at least four people, destroying houses and cars, closing bridges and causing flooding and halting transport while leaving thousands of households without electricity.

Storm Malik was advancing in the Nordic region on Sunday, bringing strong gusts of wind, and extensive rain and snowfall in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden

Malik reached the Nordic region and northern Germany late Saturday after moving in from Britain where it caused havoc with material damage and transport chaos, hitting Scotland particularly bad.

Read the full story below:

[31 January 2022 09:05 · Thomas Kingsley]

UK windfarms generate record amounts of energy during Storm Malik weekend

The UK’s windfarms generated a record amount of renewable electricity over the weekend as Storm Malik battered parts of Scotland and northern England.

According to National Grid wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour recorded in Scotland helped wind power generation to rise to a provisional all-time high of more than 19,500 megawatts – or more than half the UK’s electricity – according to data from National Grid.

National Grid’s electricity system operator said that although it recognised the new milestone towards the UK’s ‘net zero’ carbon future, it was “also thinking of those affected by Storm Malik”.

[31 January 2022 09:20 · Thomas Kingsley]

New: Met Office issues .yellow weather warning for strong winds across Scotland

The Met Office has issued a new yellow weather warning across parts of Scotland for Tuesday morning.

It has forecasted gusts up to 50mph with some areas seeing winds as high as 65mph.

The Met Office said some short term loss of power and other services is possible while some bus and train services will be affected. It’s possible that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.

[31 January 2022 09:40 · Thomas Kingsley]

Edinburgh to Newcastle rail line closed due to Storm Corrie

Rail passengers face major disruption as services between Edinburgh and Newcastle are suspended due to Storm Corrie.

The line was closed on Monday morning because of strong winds and heavy rain across the east coast of Scotland and the north-east of England.

Affected operators include London North Eastern Railway, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express.

Network Rail said it was carrying out safety checks in a bid to reopen the line.

These include monitoring overhead electric wires to ensure they have not been damaged in the severe weather, and running trains to check for debris on tracks.

The organisation said its staff have faced "an exceptionally challenging weekend with two significant storms bringing severe weather".