86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales without power
The Energy Networks Association said 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power.
A spokesperson said about 385,000 customers have been reconnected overnight, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed.
Key events
Almost 400,000 customers left without power in Ireland, say ESB Networks
Almost 400,000 customers have been left without power in Ireland after the country was battered by Storm Darragh, reports the PA news agency.
Parts of Ireland came under red weather warnings for wind overnight while an orange warning was due to expire at 10am. A status yellow warning is to remain in place until 3pm.
Major disruption has been caused to travel with some scheduled flights at Dublin airport cancelled, while there have been a number of delays and cancellations to bus and train services.
ESB Networks said as of 7am, approximately 395,000 homes, farms and businesses across the country were without power as a result of the storm.
A spokesperson said their crews and partner contractors began mobilising from early on Saturday morning to assess the damage, make the network safe and restore electricity supply where it was safe to do so.
“With Met Eireann, wind warnings remaining in place for the entire country until this afternoon, further power outages can be expected from potentially damaging gusts,” they added.
Given the extent of the storm, estimated restoration times will be updated throughout the day as fault sites are assessed and restoration work progresses – these will be available on PowerCheck.ie.”
Trains and some bus services suspended in Northern Ireland
Trains and some bus services in Northern Ireland have been suspended until further notice due to Storm Darragh, reports the PA news agency. The Met Office has issued an amber warning to 9pm on Saturday.
Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said about 46,000 customers were without power on Saturday morning after a night of high winds. NIE Networks added this number could continue to rise across the morning.
It said damage including broken overhead power lines, fallen trees across lines and broken poles will require repair work expected to continue into Sunday.
A spokesperson said:
Hundreds of extra staff have been brought in to help reinforce our normal capability.
Our incident management centre at Craigavon has been opened, as have our local incident centres which are in locations across Northern Ireland and used by our teams to coordinate our localised response.
We have mobilised additional call agents to deal with any queries customers may have regarding the repair process in their area.
Any customers who lose power can report the fault online at nienetworks.co.uk or call the NIE Networks helpline on 03457 643 643. Regular updates will be posted to social media channels.”
A number of roads, including Castle Street in Belfast city centre, were closed on Saturday morning while clean up work was carried out after storm damage.
Public transport company Translink said on social media:
Due to poor weather conditions all Goldliner services (including Dublin/DublinAirport and BelfastAirport buses) and rail services (including Enterprise services) are suspended until further notice.”
In Ireland, almost 400,000 customers are without power, reports the PA news agency.
The Belfast Christmas market is not expected to open on Saturday, depending on weather conditions, with organisers saying they need to ensure visitors and traders are kept safe.
Andy Hunter
The League One clash between Bristol Rovers and Bolton has also been called off, with plenty more postponements possible. The Championship games featuring Cardiff v Watford and Plymouth v Oxford were called off on Friday, with League Two’s match between Newport and Carlisle following suit after the Welsh FA earlier called off all games in the country amid a red weather warning.
Saturday afternoon’s race meetings at both Aintree and Chepstow have been called off due to the strong winds but Sandown has been cleared after a morning inspection.
Andy Hunter
More on the postponement of the Everton v Liverpool Merseyside derby today (see 8.48am GMT)
A statement released by the two clubs confirmed:
Following a Safety Advisory Group meeting at Goodison Park, attended by officials from both clubs, as well as representatives from Merseyside police and Liverpool city council this morning, it was decided that, due to the risk to safety in the local area due to strong wind gusts, and an amber severe wind warning that remains in place until 6am on Sunday, today’s fixture should be postponed on safety grounds.”
Everton’s statement added:
We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank supporters for their understanding. Whilst we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance. Information relating to a rearranged date for the fixture will be announced in due course. All tickets purchased for the original fixture will remain valid for the rearranged fixture.”
Liverpool also stated there was no alternative but to postpone the 245th edition of the derby, and what was due to be the final league derby played at Goodison Park. “We appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, but the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance,” stated the club.
86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales without power
The Energy Networks Association said 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power.
A spokesperson said about 385,000 customers have been reconnected overnight, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed.
Here are some of the latest Storm Darragh pictures coming in via the newswires:
National Grid has said more than 55,000 customers have no power supply across the south-west of England, south Wales and the West Midlands due to Storm Darragh. It said the majority of these were in south Wales.
About 376,000 customers have had their power restored by its teams since the start of the storm, reports the PA news agency.
Temporary air traffic restrictions in place at Heathrow and Gatwick
Air traffic control provider Nats has said temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at Heathrow and Gatwick airports due to Storm Darragh.
According to the PA news agency, a spokesperson said:
Due to Storm Darragh today temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety.
We are monitoring closely and our Met Office expert embedded within our operation is ensuring we have the latest available information.
Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption.
Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”
A Heathrow airport spokesperson also said passengers should check with their airlines due to possible disruption.
Tom Morgan of the Met Office said that as of 7am, Storm Darragh was at its peak, but higher wind speed totals are “possible” later in the morning.
The centre of the storm, meaning winds are calmer, was across north-east England, he added.
Everton v Liverpool derby match postponed
The Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
The Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park was due to kick off at 12.30pm.
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has been speaking to Sky News about Storm Darragh. Reynolds described the storm as a “challenging situation”.
According to the PA news agency, Reynolds said:
About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system to their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice.”
National Grid is responding to the 20,000 homes without power, Reynolds said, adding staff “will be on standby for any further challenges throughout the rest of the day”.
He said:
Where you can, stay inside, don’t put yourself at risk, and just follow the advice at all times.”
National Highways advised the QEII Bridge at Dartford Crossing in England’s south east had also been closed due to strong winds.
In the West Midlands, the A5 was closed between the B5070 at Gledrid and A483 at Halton due to strong winds.
Wind gusts of 92mph recorded overnight in north Wales
The Met Office confirmed to the PA news agency wind gusts of up to 92mph had been recorded overnight in Capel Curig in north Wales and Aberdaron on the Llŷn peninsula.
Gusts of between 72-78mph were recorded along the coasts of Wales and Northern Ireland.
National Rail is warning people hoping to travel by train this weekend that Storm Darragh may disrupt services throughout Saturday and Sunday.
You can see a full list of affected services on their website.
Red weather warnings explained
As we’ve been reporting, the Met Office has issued a red weather warning for Storm Darragh. But what does that actually mean?
What is a weather warning?
A weather warning is issued by the Met Office through the National Severe Weather Warning Service. The aim is to keep people safe by warning what severe weather is in store and what the impacts may be.
The warnings are given a colour – yellow, amber or red – depending on the combination of the impact the weather may have and the likelihood of those impacts occurring. Warnings can be provided up to a week ahead for severe weather including rain, thunderstorms, wind, snow and ice.
What does a red warning mean?
Red is the most serious weather warning the Met Office can issue. It means dangerous weather is expected and people are urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe. Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said red warnings are given based on “the impact, not the severity” of the weather.
How rare are red warnings?
Red warnings are issued “relatively infrequently”, according to the Met Office. The last red warning in the UK was issued in January for winds in north-east Scotland. Gusts of up to 99mph from Storm Isha killed two people and left tens of thousands of homes without power. Since the Met Office began issuing red warnings in 2011, there have been 20, with typically one or two a year.
In 2022, the UK had three red weather warnings, with the first ever alert for extreme heat in July 2022.
You can read more about red weather warnings on the Met Office website.
