Storm Austen Batters France and Britain

Storm Austen, the first named storm of autumn 2026, brought powerful winds, heavy rain and high seas to coastal areas of France and the United Kingdom on Friday, 23 October. Brittany, Cornwall and Devon were among the regions most affected. The strongest reported gust reached 160 km/h at Pointe du Raz in Finistère; exposed headlands in south-west England faced forecast winds of up to 80 mph. Along the Finistère coast, gusts of 120 to 140 km/h churned the sea and produced large waves. The storm caused visible disruption in coastal communities. At Lanildut harbour, waves several metres high struck a navigation marker, yachts were rocked at their moorings and a pleasure boat capsized and was left partly submerged. Heavy rain flooded parts of the harbour, and fallen branches were scattered on nearby roads. At Le Conquet, large waves pounded the shoreline while boats remained moored in port. In Rennes, emergency crews used chainsaws to clear a large tree that had been uprooted beside the River Vilaine. The tree temporarily blocked traffic on a nearby boulevard. In Cornwall, fallen branches led to a road closure in Hayle while workers removed the debris. Strong winds and downpours also affected southern England, with Devon among the areas exposed to the worst conditions. The most severe winds and sea conditions were concentrated along the Atlantic and Channel coasts. The weather system subsequently moved eastwards across northern France and southern England. The report describes storm conditions and their local effects, including damage, flooding and transport disruption, without reporting injuries or wider casualty figures.

Storm Austen, the first major autumn storm of the season, swept across northwestern France on Friday after intensifying over the Atlantic. Named by UK forecasters, it brought violent winds, transport disruption and widespread power cuts. Twenty-three French departments were placed on orange alert for high winds. Brittany was hit particularly hard overnight from Thursday into Friday, with the storm then moving toward Normandy and Hauts-de-France. A gust of 161 km/h was recorded at Pointe du Raz in Finistère, and several weather stations reported October wind-speed records. Around 161,000 households in Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Normandy lost electricity. Fallen trees and hazardous conditions disrupted rail services, prompting precautionary suspensions on several lines, while bridges in Seine-Maritime were closed. The storm also affected the United Kingdom. The Met Office issued an amber wind warning for Cornwall and Devon, where gusts could reach 130 km/h. More than 16,000 homes in southwest England were without power by late morning, according to National Grid. Winds of up to 100 km/h were forecast across southern and central England as the storm moved east along the English Channel coast. Germany’s national weather service, which calls the storm Luise, forecast gusts of up to 100 km/h in the west and northwest. The article places Austen amid a sequence of severe weather. Storm Adam had struck southern France and Spain just days earlier, bringing thunderstorms, torrential rain and flooding, especially in Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Var. At least six people died across the two countries, including two in France, and thousands of households lost power. Another storm, Boelo, was forecast to bring wind and heavy rain later in the weekend. The Met Office raised its warning for Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England from yellow to amber for Saturday night and Sunday.

Storm Austen, the first named storm of the 2026 autumn season, struck coastal areas of France and the United Kingdom on Friday, 23 October, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain and very rough seas. The hardest-hit areas included Brittany in France and Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. Wind gusts reached 160 km/h at Pointe du Raz in Finistère, while exposed headlands in south-west England faced forecast gusts of up to 80 mph. Along the Finistère coast, winds of 120 to 140 km/h whipped up large waves. At Lanildut harbour, waves several metres high crashed against a navigation marker, yachts rocked at their moorings, and a pleasure boat capsized and was left partly submerged. Heavy rain flooded parts of the harbour, and fallen branches littered nearby roads. Large waves also struck the shoreline at Le Conquet, where boats remained moored in port. The storm caused disruption inland as well. In Rennes, emergency crews used chainsaws to clear a large tree uprooted beside the River Vilaine, which had temporarily blocked traffic on a nearby boulevard. In Hayle, Cornwall, fallen branches forced a road closure while workers cleared the debris. Strong winds and downpours also affected southern England, with Devon among the regions exposed to the worst conditions. The strongest winds and heaviest seas were concentrated along the Atlantic and Channel coasts before the weather system moved east across northern France and southern England.

Storm Austen brought powerful winds and heavy rain to France and Britain on Friday, causing widespread power outages and disrupting transport. Nearly 300,000 French homes lost electricity, according to utility company Enedis, with most outages in Brittany and Normandy. Britain’s National Grid said engineers had to restore power to more than 12,000 homes. Winds reached 111 mph (179 kph) as a low-pressure system crossed Europe overnight, bringing down trees and scattering debris that impeded road traffic and reduced access to some bridges. Rail and air services were also affected. French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said major disruptions were expected on Paris commuter rail services and that all rail traffic in Normandy had been suspended. Flights were diverted from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Orly, with further diversions to French and European airports anticipated. France’s weather agency, Meteo France, issued orange alerts across much of the northwest and warned that strong winds and thunderstorms would continue into late Friday. Further severe weather was forecast for Britain over the weekend. The Met Office said a second storm, Boelo, could affect Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England. Heavy rain was expected to move east from the west on Saturday, with gusts of 70 to 80 mph in exposed areas.