Closing summary
At least seven people were killed and dozens injured as Storm Ciarán battered north-west Europe with torrential rain and winds of up to 124mph, damaging homes and forcing schools to close and airlines and train companies to halt services.
Almost 20,000 UK homes and businesses were without power at lunchtime, with emergency grid maintenance teams mobilised from around the UK to help reconnect homes in the south of England. There remained 9,000 properties without power this evening in south-west England, according to the National Grid.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents power network operators in the UK and Ireland, said 107,000 customers were reconnected so far today “in very challenging weather conditions”.
Landowners in England have claimed that farmers and rural communities are “unfairly shouldering the burden” of flooding, blaming “years of poor management” by the Environment Agency.
A national headwind cycling event in the Netherlands was called off as Storm Ciarán battered the country’s coast. Despite the founder, Robrecht Stoekenbroek, telling media yesterday that people were “desperately enthusiastic” for the eighth race – which can only happen in high winds – conditions were too much even for Dutch cyclists.
The port of Dover was briefly closed this morning, and ferries across the Channel to Calais cancelled, as Storm Ciarán blew gusts of more than 70mph off the coast of Kent.
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Sophie van Hensbergen, 36, who lives with her husband Driky, 35 and their two sons aged one and three in Loders, west Dorset, said the storm tore off their chimney.
The family were getting ready for bed at just after 11pm last night when the house “shook in the wind”, van Hensbergen said.
There was a very, very powerful whistling sound and the windows looked as though we were in a carwash. The noise lasted about 30 seconds. We have a fireplace in our bedroom and suddenly soot and brick and whatever else was falling into our bedroom. We were there with our one-year-old son so it was quite scary.
Our neighbour was in the garden and called up to us saying he thought we’d been struck by lightning and that our whole chimney was in his garden. But when Driky went out to take a look we hadn’t been struck by lightning as nothing was on fire. There was a very clear line of destruction that goes from the house opposite which had their thatched roof torn off one end to us and three little cottages which have all had the ridge of the roof taken off.
One nearby family were unable to locate their trampoline which had been lifted up in the severe winds, and a nearby ash landed on the school roof which had remained closed today. Van Hensbergen added: “In our neighbour’s garden there’s a big oak tree and it looks as if a giant has used a chainsaw to rip off all the branches.”
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There are 9,000 properties without power in south-west England, according to the National Grid.
The Cornwall councillor in charge of environment and public protection, Martyn Alvey, said the storm had led to a “significant event” in the region that had left highways teams dealing with about 180 reports of fallen trees, debris and blocked drains. “For people in their homes, particularly those who had lost power, it would have been a fairly traumatic experience.”
However, the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight local resilience forum (LRF) has downgraded its major incident this afternoon as the area had not experienced the “full extent of the forecast weather”.
Assistant chief constable Paul Bartolomeo, the LRF’s chairman, said:
While we have seen flooding of properties and roads, power outages and disruption to the highways networks caused by the wind and rain, we have thankfully not seen the full extent of the forecast weather, and we are now in a position to stand down the major incident response.
In Dorset, firefighters have evacuated 70 people from 198 caravans at Freshwater Holiday Park in Burton Bradstock, near Bradport, with some being taken to dry land by boat.
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The UK floods minister Rebecca Pow has expressed her gratitude to the emergency services teams “working incredibly hard” to respond to the storm. She said it continued to bring strong winds and rain across the south coast.
Potential flooding risks remain across the country with river levels remaining high with large waves at the coast and saturated ground. Environment Agency teams are on the ground operating assets, clearing rivers and debris from falling trees and working with partners to support residents in communities at risk or recently affected by flooding.
We have activated our emergency operations centre and are supporting the Cabinet Office to coordinate the government response.
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A student in Cornwall woke up when Storm Ciarán ‘blew off’ the roof from her attic bedroom this morning.
Katie Marsh, who lives in Falmouth, Cornwall, was “terrified” when it occurred at about 5.30am. She told the BBC (photos can be viewed of her roofless room) that the first thing she did was save her laptop “because I have got a lot of uni work on there”.
Our roof completely blew off and collapsed into my room on top of me. I think most of the roof is gone now. I was screaming quite loudly – it was very shocking.
All the plaster and the beams fell on to my bed and woke me up. I’m trying to figure out where I am going to stay, how I am going to get my stuff moved and figure out what is damaged.
It was terrifying. I tried to save my laptop because I have got a lot of uni work on there and I knew it was under the roof so I got that out.”
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Some of the most vivid photos showing the impact of the storm across the British Isles.
Courtesy of a reader, a close call for a car on Jubilee Road in Totnes, Devon, and a view of the fallen tree from their kitchen.
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At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured as Storm Ciarán battered north-west Europe with torrential rain and winds of up to 200km/h (124mph), damaging homes and forcing schools to close and airlines and train companies to halt services.
A truck driver was killed by a falling tree in the Aisne département of northern France, authorities said on Thursday, while more than 1.2 million people lost their electricity supply, including about half the population of Brittany.
A 70-year-old man died in Le Havre after falling off his balcony in an accident police described as linked to Storm Ciarán’s record-breaking winds, while in Spain a woman was killed when a tree fell on her in central Madrid and three people were injured.
Two people died in central Ghent, Belgium, after being hit by falling branches from trees. One of the victims was five years old, while the other one was a 64-year-old German woman visiting Belgium. A third was seriously injured in the port city of Antwerp when a high wall gave way in record winds, authorities said.
In the Netherlands a person was crushed to death by a tree in Venray in the southern province of Limburg, local media said. At least 10 other people were injured by flying debris around the country, at least three seriously.
The German fire service also said on Thursday that a 46-year-old woman from Bavaria who was on a family holiday with her husband and two children had been killed by a falling tree while out hiking near Rammelsberg in the Harz mountains.
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Schemes in Ireland to support businesses whose premises have been flooded in recent weeks have been extended to retailers and community groups affected by Storm Ciarán.
Two schemes have been approved for small businesses, sports clubs and community and voluntary organisations unable to secure flood insurance and affected by extreme weather events, PA reports.
Ministers made the decision at a cabinet meeting today to extend the two schemes to businesses based in counties Louth and Wexford that have been hit by flooding since 24 October.
One scheme offers an initial €5,000 (£4,400) payment and total support of up to €20,000 based on the scale of the damage. A second scheme, set up in response to unprecedented flooding in Midleton, County Cork, offers an initial payment of €10,000 to businesses and up to €100,000 euro in total after auditing and assessment.
The enterprise minister, Simon Coveney, said the schemes would provide “urgent assistance to businesses that were unable, through no fault of their own, to get insurance to help with the costs of repairing the damage caused by flooding”.
As with similar weather events in the past, the Irish Red Cross will administer and make payments under the scheme on behalf of my department.
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Six people killed, schools closed and hundreds of flights cancelled
Six people have been killed as Storm Ciarán brought chaos to western Europe today, closing schools, shutting down train services and cancelling hundreds of flights, reports Reuters.
A truck driver was killed after a tree fell on him in France and a second death was reported in Le Havre.
Falling trees killed a woman in Madrid and another woman in the Netherlands, while two people – a five-year-old and a 64-year-old from Germany – died in Ghent by falling branches.
In France, 1.2m households were left without electricity and 15 people, including seven firefighters, were injured.
Residents in Finistère, Brittany, were urged to stay at home to avoid winds of 207km/h (129mph) and reports of 20-metre (66ft) waves off the coast.
In Britain, the Channel Islands were among the worst affected areas, with reports of windows blown in and a roof ripped off.
KLM, the Dutch airline, cancelled hundreds of flights to and from Amsterdam and international trains from the Dutch capital to Paris were cancelled. Shipping lanes in the south-west of the Netherlands were closed.
The airport operator Aena said 42 flights in Spain, where waves of 9 metres were expected, were cancelled. La Pinilla, a ski resort north of Madrid, and Estaca de Bares in Galicia registered wind velocities of more than 150km/h.
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A few images from today as Storm Ciarán causes destruction across Europe:
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Storm Ciarán has set a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure recorded in England and Wales in November, reports the UK’s Met Office.
The record was set in Plymouth in England, where a value of 953.3 hPa (mb) was measured, and St Athan in Wales, with 958.5 hPa (mb).
The previous records were 959.7 hPa (mb) in England (set in 1916) and 962.7 hPa (mb) in Wales (set in 2010).
⚠️ #StormCiarán has set a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure recorded in England and Wales in November, with a value of 953.3 hPa (mb) in Plymouth and 958.5 hPa (mb) in St Athan
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
◾ The previous record in England was 959.7 hPa (mb), set in 1916
◾ The previous… pic.twitter.com/zruckdYR2K
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Landowners in England have claimed that farmers and rural communities are “unfairly shouldering the burden” of flooding, blaming “years of poor management” by the Environment Agency.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) called on the government to do more to support farmers and landowners, claiming their fields are being sacrificed to save houses and villages downstream, reports the PA news agency.
Tim Bamford, the body’s regional director, said:
Flooding can have a massive impact on farming and the countryside, with crops damaged and rural communities often cut off.
Years of poor management of watercourses and flood defences by the Environment Agency, often caused by lack of resources, mean farmers are still unfairly shouldering the burden of flooding devastation.
Landowners don’t receive compensation when the Environment Agency effectively floods their fields to protect downstream houses and villages, despite the harm to their crops and livelihoods.
And when farmers do attempt to implement flood prevention techniques, they face lengthy authorisation delays and costs, creating a lose-lose situation.
Farmers want to provide solutions to the climate crisis. But until the government steps in to tackle planning delays and offer full and proper compensation to those storing floodwater, farmers will continue paying the price for problems they didn’t create.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said:
We are acutely aware of the impacts flooding can have on farmers and the agriculture sector, and our teams are working hard on the ground to help people recover from Storm Babet and the current impacts being felt by Storm Ciarán.
Between April 2021 and April 2023 we have better protected around 148,000 hectares of agricultural land through our flooding investment programme.
Working with farmers and landowners is also an important part of our flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy roadmap up to 2026, which is supported by a wide range of partners, including the NFU [the National Farmers’ Union].
French man dies after falling off balcony
A 70-year-old man died in Le Havre after falling off his balcony in an accident the authorities described as linked to Storm Ciarán’s winds, local media reported.
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More pictures from France and the British Isles today.
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Rihab Khalid, the Isaac Newton Trust research fellow at the University of Cambridge, said today that it is “apparent that we are not yet prepared for the impacts of climate change.”
“Storm Ciarán hits the south coast of England with near record-breaking low pressure shortly after Storm Babet delivered the third wettest three-day period in England and Wales since records began in 1891. And it’s barely the beginning of November,” he said, noting that “all this follows the joint hottest September ever in the UK, in a year that will almost certainly be the hottest humans have ever experienced.”
Khalid added:
As records tumble, the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events is a stark reminder that the impacts of climate change are not a future probability, but a present threat affecting us in all parts of the world.
Climate action to tackle this is not only about reducing emissions but also about enhancing our capacity to weather the storms, figuratively and literally.
It is all too apparent that we are not yet prepared for the impacts of climate change. This is why building resilience and community-led adaptability must be at the forefront of our response. Slowing progress to net zero now will only mean more extreme weather and greater threats like this in the future.
Here’s the view from space.
🛰️ Take a look at the latest view from space
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
☁️ The large swirl of cloud associated with #StormCiarán can be seen just off the east coast of England
☀️ There plenty of sunshine across Northern Ireland and western Scotland though pic.twitter.com/98dxnES5kK
Five people killed during storm by falling trees
A total of five people – in France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium – have lost their lives due to falling trees during Storm Ciarán.
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One person killed in The Netherlands
One person died when a tree fell in Venray, the Dutch broadcaster NOS has reported, citing police in the province of Limburg.
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In France, a high wind alert is still in place for Normandy and Hauts-de-France.
Tempête #CIARAN toujours en cours.
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) November 2, 2023
Les vents les plus forts ont désormais quitté la Bretagne. La #VigilanceOrange #ventviolent se poursuit sur les départements côtiers de Normandie et Hauts-de-France.
Point👉https://t.co/2SJM7oyBUK
📸 #CIARAN nuit du 1 au 2 novembre à 2h04 UTC pic.twitter.com/x3C6duEb9R
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Here’s a map showing rainfall in Europe.
Widespread damage and disruption in the UK
Here’s the latest from the UK:
A record-breaking storm has caused widespread damage and disruption across parts of the UK with winds of up to 102mph and heavy rain hitting southern England and the Channel Islands.
Some of those caught up in Storm Ciarán said they had not seen such extreme conditions for years and the Met Office declared a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure for England and Wales in November had been set.
Scores of people had to evacuate homes and caravans and hundreds of schools were shut, roads closed, buildings damaged and flights and bus, rail and shipping routes affected. At its height, 10,000 homes in Cornwall were left without power
A police officer was taken to hospital for checks after a tree fell on his car in Loddiswell, south Devon, and the AA rescued a man suffering with hypothermia from a flood in Newbury, Berkshire. Two buses were damaged by debris in strong winds in Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, though passengers escaped injury.
While the worst of the wind had abated by Thursday lunchtime, the Environment Agency warned that floods could follow with so much rain falling on already saturated ground. By 2pm on Thursday the agency had issued 82 flood warnings for England and 198 flood alerts. Natural Resources Wales said river levels in the far south-west of the country could be the highest ever recorded.
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One person killed in Belgium
One individual died and another was injured when a tree fell in Ghent, local media reported citing police officials.
Woman killed in Spain after tree fell
Madrid’s emergency services confirmed today that a woman has been killed due to a tree that fell.
Five people were injured.
.@SAMUR_PC confirma el fallecimiento de una mujer en Almagro 2 tras caída de árbol. Atiende también a otros 3 heridos leves. @BomberosMad trabajando en el punto pic.twitter.com/wHrF6r7Qbc
— Emergencias Madrid (@EmergenciasMad) November 2, 2023
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Here is the latest storm map from Spain’s state meteorological agency.
⚠️ Actualizamos nuestro aviso especial por temporal de viento, mala mar y lluvias.
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) November 2, 2023
👉 La #BorrascaCiarán todavía nos afectará durante la tarde/noche del jueves y el viernes.
👉 El sábado llega la #BorrascaDomingos, con efectos similares.
+ info ➡https://t.co/sSvbT5S7ul pic.twitter.com/6pn4puCjEP
In its climate statement for October, the Irish Meteorological Service said there was “record high October rainfall in places”.
Monthly rainfall totals were highest at Cork airport with 307.2 mm (222% of its LTA) (its highest October rainfall on record and its third highest overall monthly rainfall behind December 2015 and January 1974 (record length 61 years). The month’s wettest day was also recorded at Cork airport with 55.6mm on Wednesday 18th (its highest daily fall for October since 1995).
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Almost 20,000 UK homes and businesses without power
Almost 20,000 UK homes and businesses were without power at lunchtime on Thursday, with emergency grid maintenance teams mobilised from around the UK to help reconnect homes in the south of England.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents power network operators in the UK and Ireland, said 107,000 customers were reconnected so far today “in very challenging weather conditions”.
“While difficult conditions remain, with violent winds forecast until the end of the day, teams from across the country are working together to continue to reconnect customers where it is safe to do so,” an ENA spokesperson said.
Teams from Scotland and the Isle of Man have travelled to the south of England to support emergency work there, the spokesperson said, adding:
Thousands of customers on the priority services register have been contacted to make them aware of the Met Office warnings and provide advice on what to do if they have a power cut.
Energy network operators have arranged for extra emergency teams to be on standby and have moved vehicles, equipment and engineering teams to strategic locations to help where repair work is needed.
#StormCiarán is bringing strong winds to parts of the UK.
— Energy Networks Association (ENA) (@energynetworks) November 2, 2023
⚠️ @metoffice is warning of disruption to travel, utilities and potential structural damage⚠️
The energy industry is providing the following advice 👇 https://t.co/FAqflGViwx pic.twitter.com/oBpcaDezFr
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Here’s a map of the highest wind gusts seen across the UK.
Here's a look at the highest gusts we've seen across the UK since 21:00 on Wednesday 1st November, in association with #StormCiarán 👇 pic.twitter.com/ulgfvIsMFW
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
The UK Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings for Storm Ciarán.
Here is a map:
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Photos from the UK, France and Spain today.
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Key event
Storm Ciarán “has set a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure recorded in England and Wales in November, with a value of 953.3 hPa (mb) in Plymouth and 958.5 hPa (mb) in St Athan,” the UK Met Office said today.
⚠️ #StormCiarán has set a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure recorded in England and Wales in November, with a value of 953.3 hPa (mb) in Plymouth and 958.5 hPa (mb) in St Athan
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
◾ The previous record in England was 959.7 hPa (mb), set in 1916
◾ The previous… pic.twitter.com/zruckdYR2K
France’s transport minister Clément Beaune has expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of the truck driver killed as a result of storm Ciarán.
Mes pensées vont à la famille et aux collègues du chauffeur routier victime de la tempête #Ciaran et décédé cette nuit dans l'Aisne.
— Clement Beaune (@CBeaune) November 2, 2023
J’ai exprimé mes condoléances à la famille du transport routier.
Les services de l’Etat restent pleinement mobilisés : vigilance et protection.
Dutch headwind cycling event cancelled
A national headwind cycling event in the Netherlands has been called off as storm Ciarán batters the coast.
Despite founder Robrecht Stoekenbroek telling media on Wednesday that people were “desperately enthusiastic” for the eighth race – which can only happen in high winds – conditions were too much even for Dutch cyclists.
The Eneco NK Tegenwindfietsen, “cycling against the wind”, is carried out on bicycles with a back brake and no gears against windspeeds of seven or more on the Beaufort wind scale – a “near gale”. It started this morning, with contenders set to plough 8.5km over the Oosterscheldekering eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier, part of the Delta Works that protect the Netherlands from North Sea floods in Zeeland. But by 1pm the race was cancelled “with pain in our hearts”.
Amber alerts were issued, schoolchildren sent home early, and traffic organisation ANWB advised working from home because trees in leaf were more likely to blow over.
NOS broadcaster reported one person had been hit by a fallen tree in The Hague and another two wounded in their car on a motorway in South Limburg.
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Reader weighs in
Carolyn, a reader on the Kent coast near Deal, sent us a photo, writing:
The worst seems to have passed, only damage my trellis and vine! Many uprooted trees in the area blocking roads, some of which have now been moved as the wind is dying down.
The port of Dover was briefly closed this morning, and ferries across the Channel to Calais cancelled, as Storm Ciarán blew gusts of more than 70mph off the coast of Kent.
“Due to adverse weather from Storm Ciarán, all sailings are currently suspended from the Port of Dover,” the port authorities posted on Twitter/X at 7.59am. At 11.27am, they posted again to say it had reopened to shipping.
Despite that, one response to the post said police were still blocking roads into the port.
Gusts of 71mph were reported in Langdon Bay near Dover, according to the BBC. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for wind and rain in the area for most of Thursday.
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The French national meteorological service continues to warn of strong winds, noting that winds are moving toward the north throughout the day.
Tempête #Ciaran #VigilanceOrange
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) November 2, 2023
🌬️🌊Vents violents et fortes vagues sur le nord-ouest du pays se décalant progressivement vers le nord en cours de journée.
⛈️Fortes pluies orageuses sur la Corse.
💧Risque de crues sur Hem, Liane et Gravona amont.
https://t.co/w5OGXbEEhP https://t.co/B3KFlK80vU
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More photos from around Europe as storm Ciarán hits.
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An update from the UK Met Office.
⚠️ Weather warnings for Storm Ciarán have been updated this morning
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
See the updates below 👇
⚠️ Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/pETqOMl8xH
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Water supplies cut in parts of south east England
Water supplies have been cut in a number of areas in south-east England after Storm Ciarán affected power supplies, the regional water company has said.
South East Water said it was liaising with power distribution networks to restore power to pumps. “As soon as we’re alerted to a supply issue we are responding as quickly as possible to get taps flowing again,” South East Water said in a service update on Thursday morning.
“Our key sites continue to operate on generators to ensure we can keep treating and pumping water to the majority of properties, maintaining supplies to as many as possible in the event of a power cut.”
Due to #StormCiaran and strong winds affecting power supplies across the south east there are some localised areas receiving intermittent supplies.
— South East Water (@sewateruk) November 2, 2023
As soon as we’re alerted to a supply issue we are responding as quickly as possible to restore supplies.https://t.co/057sELBK3I pic.twitter.com/LCo0zI3Rea
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How is the storm affecting you and your community?
We want to hear from you.
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France sees record winds, lorry driver killed
North-western France experienced record winds of up to 200km/h (124mph), as a lorry-driver was killed and six more people were injured, while more than 1.2 million people lost electricity and tens of thousands lost their phone signal.
More than 1,315 people were moved from campsites and shelters to safer accommodation.
The government announced that a lorry driver was killed in the Aisne district in northern France, after a tree fell on the cabin of his heavy-goods lorry before dawn on Thursday morning.
The transport minister Clément Beaune said the driver’s death underlined how even in areas that were not on red alert, there could be very high risks and high danger on roads.
Many roads were closed to cars, for example in Finistère in Brittany where the many obstacles littering roads, meant authorities closed large areas of the road network. Residents were told to stay home and not approach the coast.
Four other people were injured, including three fire-officers, often in relation to falling trees. Two fire officers were injured on a road north of Rennes because of a falling tree, a motorcyclist was injured in a collision near Nantes due to an uprooted tree.
Electricity was down in over 1 million homes mostly in Brittany, but also in Normandy, after trees fell on electricity lines and pylons were blown over by winds.
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Storm Ciarán has caused flooding, travel disruptions and school closures.
Watch footage of the storm’s impact.
Dramatic accounts from UK
The worst of the wind seems to have passed through the south-west of England and the Channel Islands but dramatic accounts are coming in.
Suzie Phillips, 44, a civil servant in Jersey, told the PA news agency said she was awoken by huge hailstones. “The hailstones were heavier and bigger than a golf ball and we’ve had three windows damaged by them – in my daughter’s bedroom, a landing and a bathroom. It was quite worrying, especially for the kids – they were quite anxious about it.”
The storm cut off the island of Portland in Dorset on the south coast, which is connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway with the flood siren alert activated for only the second time in nine years.
Heather Jones, of the Stand up to Racism group, who are in contact with asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge, which is berthed in Portland port, said: “Some people on board are getting quite seasick. They have told me they got absolutely no sleep last night and the boat was shaking so much it was pretty scary.”
A young cyclist and a walker were knocked over by waves nearby at West Bay.
Residents in the village of Loders, just inland, said a “mini-tornado” passed through.
Bridport fire station posted on Facebook: “Mobilised to alarms actuating in Loders. On arrival we were met by damage to multiple properties and large amounts of debris strewn across the road after what was described by residents as a mini tornado had passed through the village.
“One building had taken the full force and caused substantial damage to the thatched roof and gable end of the property. Large trees had been uprooted too. Other properties received damage of various forms.”
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Speaking of the storm, Gerry Murphy, a senior forecaster at Met Éireann, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that “we were lucky in the sense that it maintained its track well to the south of Ireland.”
The yellow level warnings were issued because there was always the threat of flooding in areas that have already flooding, so these amounts may have had an impact with regard to flooding but overall the rainfall amounts were not exceptional in any way.
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Scientists caution that climate change may allow Storm Ciarán to drop more water on Europe
Climate change may be allowing Storm Ciarán to drop more water on western Europe, scientists have warned.
“There are a lot of attribution studies and other lines of evidence showing that autumn/winter storms like this are more damaging because of climate change,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and co-founder of the World Weather Attribution network of researchers.
“That’s because the rainfall associated with these types of storms is more severe due to climate change, and the storm surges are higher and thus more damaging due to the higher sea levels.”
For every degree the planet warms, the air can hold about 7% more water vapour. Humanity has heated the planet 1.2C since the Industrial Revolution by burning fossil fuels, farming livestock and destroying nature – all of which pump heat-trapping gas into the air.
“The link between strong winds and climate change is much less clear,” said Michael Byrne, a climate scientist at the University of St Andrews. “There is some evidence suggesting storms like Ciarán will become windier as the climate warms, but the jury is out.”
Scientists will have to formally study the storm to work out if climate change made it worse. In some cases, their attribution studies have found no significant link.
But as the planet heats up, scientists expect extreme rainfall to get stronger across most of Europe.
Melissa Lazenby, a climate scientist at the University of Sussex, said climate models agree that storms like Ciarán will become more common.
“It is also very likely that the intensity of these winter storms will increase, and that rainfall from these events will result in larger impacts such as flooding and larger storm surges alongside the coastal regions.”
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The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites has shared an image of the storm from space.
You can really see just how large Storm #Ciarán is when viewing from #space.
— EUMETSAT (@eumetsat) November 2, 2023
Our #MTGI1 satellite got this view between 01 November at 12:00 - 02 November at 06:00 UTC.
The storm is bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to many parts of Europe. https://t.co/K2EXpSuAQw pic.twitter.com/TK0VIAxzSf
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has also warned of strong winds. Here is a map.
Update storm #Ciarán: ook voor het IJsselmeergebied geldt vanmiddag code oranje vanaf 15:00 vanwege zeer zware windstoten. Hou de actuele waarschuwingen in de gaten: https://t.co/TCCsMMItkR #StormCiarán pic.twitter.com/sjeiuq3IzS
— KNMI (@KNMI) November 2, 2023
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The impact of Storm Ciarán can be felt across several European countries this morning. Here are some photos.
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Here is a warning map issued by Spain’s state meteorological agency this morning.
⚠️ Este es el mapa de avisos en vigor para hoy, 2 de noviembre, actualizado a las 10:00 horas.
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) November 2, 2023
👉 Peligro extremo en el Atlántico gallego y Cantábrico oriental por olas de 8 a 9 metros.
👉 Peligro importante por vientos muy fuertes en amplias zonas de la Península y Baleares. pic.twitter.com/y9vkVbGdTu
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The UK Met Office said its warning is “now more focused for where the strongest winds associated with Storm Ciarán will be in the south-east.”
⚠️⚠️ Amber weather warning UPDATED ⚠️⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 2, 2023
Warning now more focused for where the strongest winds associated with #StormCiarán will be in the southeast
Thursday 0600 – 1200
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/UhdH6UULTj
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Here is a map of the risks in France.
🔴 2 départements en Rouge
— VigiMétéoFrance (@VigiMeteoFrance) November 2, 2023
🔶 24 départements en Orange pic.twitter.com/QXmynKz2ca
French meteorological service warns of 'very strong' winds
Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, is warning about very strong winds.
La tempête #Ciaran a donné lieu à des vents très forts sur les départements en vigilance rouge et orange #ventviolent. La tempête est toujours en cours et se décale se progressivement vers le nord. #vigilancerouge #vigilanceorange
— Météo-France (@meteofrance) November 2, 2023
⚠️ Restez très prudents https://t.co/nKFFz1VUlR pic.twitter.com/gw62lSAo0C
Clément Beaune, France’s transport minister, called for “minimum” traffic in the few hours where risk remains very high.
Speaking on Franceinfo radio this morning, the minister also noted that the Brest and Quimper airports remain closed.
🔴 Tempête Ciaran ➡️ Clément Beaune appelle “au minimum de circulation possible, dans ces quelques heures où le risque reste très important”.
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) November 2, 2023
“Les aéroports de Brest et Quimper restent fermés en ce début de matinée.” pic.twitter.com/IC8o4IuOLd
Wind warning issued in Belgium
The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium has issued a wind warning, in effect from 8am local time today until tomorrow morning.
There is a very strong wind expected where damage or troubles on a larger scale is possible and traffic can be seriously affected. Be careful and follow the instructions of the responsible authority.
Winds and heavy rain in south-west England as schools shut
Winds of almost 80mph and very heavy rain have battered parts of south-west England as Storm Ciarán brings disruption to swathes of the UK.
Hundreds of schools have been shut, roads closed, flights and bus and rail routes disrupted with “danger to life” amber warnings in place for wind across southern England.
By 7.30am on Thursday the Environment Agency had issued 65 flood warnings for England and 156 flood alerts. Natural Resources Wales warned river levels in the far south-west of the country could be the highest ever recorded. Around 10,000 homes were without power in south-west England.
The Channel Islands bore the brunt of the storm on Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday, where Jersey police said winds reached 102mph (164km/h).
About 40 people were evacuated from their homes on the island because of damage to buildings. Four people were taken to A&E and the roof of Jersey general hospital was damaged.
Very large hailstones pounded the islands and there were 9-metre swells and an unconfirmed report of a tornado. The Jersey Met Section issued a red wind warning, its highest level. All flights from Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney airports on Thursday were cancelled and ferries to and from the islands suspended.
Wind speeds of more than 70mph were recorded on the Isles of Scilly and at Berry Head in south-west England while there were winds of more than 60mph at some areas of the south and south-east.
1.2 million households without electricity in France
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France’s minister for energy transition, said on social media this morning that 1.2 million households are without electricity due to the impact of Storm Ciarán.
La tempête Ciaran se poursuit.
— Agnès Pannier-Runacher 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@AgnesRunacher) November 2, 2023
1,2 million de foyers connaissent actuellement des coupures d’électricité.
Merci aux équipes d’@enedis et @rte_france et à toutes celles et ceux qui sont sur le pont pour rétablir le courant. Je serai à leurs côtés cet après-midi.
One dead as storm hits France
Storm Ciarán left one person dead in France, officials said, Reuters reported.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, last night warned residents of areas affected by Storm Ciarán not to take risks.
Une tempête majeure va frapper dès ce soir une partie du pays.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 1, 2023
Aux habitants des départements en vigilance : ne prenez pas de risque. Restez chez vous et prenez des nouvelles de vos proches isolés.
Un grand merci aux agents de l’État et des collectivités qui veillent.
Updated
Storm Ciarán: ‘danger to life’ warnings for England
Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring a fresh bout of strong winds and heavy rain to the UK – with “danger to life” amber weather warnings issued for Thursday.
Two amber warnings, the second-highest level of alert, are in place for parts of the south coast of England on Thursday, with further yellow rain warnings, the lowest level, meaning some disruption could be on the way.
Commuters in southern England were urged to work from home by Southern Rail, with Southeastern “strongly advising” passengers not to travel on routes in and out of London before 9am on Thursday as they assess any fallen trees and debris on the line.
Train passengers travelling between Scotland and England will face disruption, with operators issuing a warning to travellers. Other operators were warning of delays and cancellations.
Welcome to the blog
Welcome back to the Europe live blog.
Today we will be looking at the latest on the impact of Storm Ciarán.
Send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
