Amber warning issued as Storm Austen threatens UK with strong winds and heavy rain

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for strong winds as Storm Austen is forecast to sweep across parts of the UK.

The warning - the second-highest tier that the Met Office issues - is valid for Cornwall and parts of west Devon from 03:00 until 10:00 BST on Friday.  Wind gusts of up to 80mph (130km/h) are expected around exposed coasts, with 60-70mph gusts elsewhere.

Flying debris could lead to injuries or a danger to life, with the risk of power cuts and damage to buildings.

A broader yellow Met Office wind warning covers large swathes of southern England and south Wales with some travel disruption possible.

Southern and eastern Scotland is also covered by a Met Office yellow warning - this one for heavy rain which could bring the risk of flooding.

Storm Austen - an area of low pressure - is currently developing in the Atlantic and will continue to deepen as it approaches the UK.  It will move close to south-west England on Thursday night with the strongest winds expected to arrive early on Friday morning.

The very windiest conditions are expected on coastal headlands in north and west Cornwall - exposed to the north-westerly gales - but gusts of up to 70mph could occur even in inland areas.


Gusts of 60-70mph are expected across the amber warning area, with 80mph gusts possible in exposed areas.

According to the Met Office there is a high risk of 'significant' disruption with possible delays to road and rail transport.  Air and ferry services could also be affected.

Injuries and danger to life are likely from flying debris and large waves along the coast. Some power cuts are also possible.

The centre of Storm Austen is then forecast to move through the English Channel which could mean the Channel Islands - which are not covered by the Met Office warning system - are hit by damaging winds.  Gusts in excess of 80mph are possible.

(BBC article continues)

Network Rail and Great Western Railway are amending services after the Met Office issued an amber weather warning – its second highest – for strong winds and gusts, which could exceed 80mph in coastal areas.

Strong winds increase the risk of trees and other debris falling on to the railway. To keep trains running safely, lower speed limits will be introduced on routes in Devon and Cornwall between the start of service and 1300.

Speed restrictions mean that there will be fewer trains running than normal. Those trains that do run are expected to be busier and some journeys could take longer than usual.

Long-distance services will run between London Paddington and Plymouth only, with local services providing a shuttle between Penzance and Plymouth.

Tomorrow (Thursday) night’s Sleeper service from London Paddington will terminate at Plymouth.

Other services in the region are likely to change as we seek to minimise the impact of the storm and some early-morning services will be cancelled to allow us to assess the impact of any damage in full daylight.

Full details of the amended timetable will be published at GWR.com/check from tomorrow. GWR and Network Rail will continue to update customers throughout Friday as conditions change

Dawlish looks to be very exposed to this for a while, as the wind direction is from the south for a while, albeit in the small hours.

Dear Chris

You are receiving this message because you opted in to receive updates from us about operational railway activity in your area.

You may have seen that we are expecting the arrival of Storm Austen which will bring some severe weather in the coming days where you live. The Met Office has issued weather warnings for wind and rain affecting parts of Wales and South West England on Friday, and gusts of 50–60mph possible more widely across the warning area. Stronger winds are possible in some exposed coastal locations.

We anticipate there will be some impact to railway services and we want to keep trains moving as much as possible during this time.

One of the issues that affects the railway during severe weather is debris blowing on to the track and overhead lines. We would be very grateful if you could check your gardens, yards and communal areas to ensure garden furniture, trampolines and anything that may blow on to the railway line during windy weather is secure. This might seem like a small thing but it really helps us to provide a safe and reliable railway during stormy weather. 

We're not waiting for the weather to arrive before we take action. Teams across the railway are working hard behind the scenes to prepare - carrying out extra inspections, improving drainage, managing vegetation and strengthening infrastructure to reduce the impact on journeys wherever possible.

We really appreciate you being our eyes and ears along the railway. If you see anything that looks unsafe such as: 
- Fences that have blown down that provide access to the railway
- Fallen trees or branches hanging over the railway 
- Debris that has blown on to or near the track or anything that looks unsafe

Please call us on our emergency 24 hour helpline on 03457 11 41 41

Passengers planning to travel on Friday and Saturday should check local services before travelling as speed restrictions and amended timetables will be in place. You can check GWR services here: Check Train Journeys | Journey Planner | Great Western Railway and for Transport for Wales here: Travel information | TfW

Thank you for your continued support and please follow local advice to stay safe during Storm Austen. 

While we're doing everything we can to keep customers moving, weather on this scale may sometimes mean delays, cancellations or changes to services to keep everyone safe. If disruption does occur, please bear with us. We'll keep you informed, support you throughout your journey and work tirelessly to get you back on track as quickly as possible.

Ew. Hadn't checked, but high tide is listed as 4.49am. Realtimetrains has the down sleeper listed as passing Dawlish at 04:49 and terminating at Plymouth so it may be that contingencies are activated.

[EDIT to add] But happily the centre of the low pressure system is booked to pass directly over Dawlish at the same time too, so if everything runs to time the wind will have fallen away more or less completely.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W34774/2026-10-22/detailed

Hot off the press: my son, in Falmouth, tells me that their bin blew over…

Trees barely moving in Melksham

There have been/are trees down/been struck at:

St Austell
Luxulyan
Cullompton
Bruton
St Keynes
Bere Ferrers
Perranwell
Yeoford

The Dawlish sea wall was closed this morning due to broken ballast boards.

Anyone would think that the vegetation management policy might just be in need of review

....................there's a policy? 

Returning from Bristol on the 14:22 Cardiff to Portsmouth, that train terminated short - at Bath Spa. Leaving the healthily running train at Bath, a minute later the entire passenger load did the same, acting on an announcement on board. The ~85% full 4 carriage train emptied. Then, an announcement went out to the effect "Passengers who have alighted from the Portsmouth train, please stay on the platform and we'll have information for you in ten minutes". After ten minutes the advice was wait on the platform and catch the following service to Portsmouth - but checking RTT it looks as though that was cancelled too. The one an hour later than that ran, and has just left Salisbury half an hour down, sods law dictating that it is three carriages. RTT doesn't show what happened to that Portsmouth train, but something got under the feet of the 14:43 to Paddington which called at Bath 20 minutes down.

Also, Bath Spa Station seems to have a cloak of invisibility - on the way down Manvers Street in the morning, someone off a bus asked me where the station was so we walked back down to it. She said that as she headed into Manvers Street and with the station behind her, she'd asked one of the bods working on the road there where it was and he replied that he didn't have a clue, which led her to think that it was in another part of the city entirely. But it's not the first person off a bus who's been confused about the station ...