Storm Amy, the first named storm of the 2025-2026 autumn season, barreled into the UK and Ireland on Friday, October 3, and Saturday, October 4, 2025, unleashing a barrage of fierce winds, torrential rain, and widespread disruption. As the weekend unfolded, much of the country found itself under a patchwork of weather alerts, with the Met Office issuing seven warnings ahead of the storm and raising the alarm for potentially life-threatening conditions in some areas.
According to the BBC, wind gusts approached a staggering 100mph on Friday night, with Tiree in the Inner Hebrides recording the highest at 96mph. Northern Ireland also saw a provisional October wind gust record, as 92mph winds swept through Magilligan in County Londonderry. The Met Office’s amber wind warning, which hadn’t been issued since Storm Floris in August, was in effect for northern Scotland until 9pm on Saturday, while yellow warnings blanketed the rest of the UK, as well as parts of Northern Ireland and Wales.
The storm’s impact was swift and severe. Network Rail Scotland’s route director, Ross Moran, described the situation starkly: “Storm Amy has hit parts of the country much harder and more quickly than expected.” He reported that more than 60 incidents of flooding, fallen trees, and debris on the tracks were logged within the first two hours of the storm. ScotRail anticipated that disruption to rail services would extend into Saturday and possibly Sunday, with all services via Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street suspended on Friday night and not expected to resume until at least lunchtime on Saturday. On Saturday morning, about 80 trees were reported down on lines, and engineers were working to check routes before resuming services.
Travel chaos wasn’t limited to the rails. Traffic Scotland reported a lengthy list of road closures, including the Forth Road Bridge shut in both directions. The Skye Bridge, Queensferry Crossing, and Clackmannanshire Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles, while the Tay Road Bridge reopened early Saturday with a 30mph speed restriction but remained closed to such vehicles. The M9 eastbound near Stirling was among many stretches of road closed due to falling trees, and the A78 at Skelmorlie reopened after an overnight closure caused by flooding. The M48 Severn Bridge between Gloucestershire and Wales was closed overnight because of high winds, as were parts of the A19 Tees Viaduct, the A66 in Cumbria, and the A628 near Manchester.
Air and sea travel faced their own set of challenges. Belfast International Airport warned of expected delays on Saturday, urging passengers to check with airlines for updates. Dublin Airport also saw cancellations and delays, with around 20 flights cancelled by airlines as of 8am Saturday. CalMac Ferries anticipated widespread disruption and cancellations into Sunday, while Avanti West Coast “strongly recommended” customers traveling north of Preston to check updates before setting out.
All eight of London’s royal parks, including Hyde Park and Richmond Park, were closed on Saturday due to the hazardous winds. The Royal Parks stated, “The safety of visitors and staff is our top priority,” and announced that opening times on Sunday would be delayed pending safety inspections. Closures extended to all park roads, cycleways, cafes, kiosks, sports venues, the Serpentine lido and boating lake, and the royal parks shop.
Storm Amy also set a new meteorological record. The Met Office reported that Baltasound in Shetland recorded a central pressure of 947.9 hPa, making it the lowest October pressure ever recorded at a UK land station—beating the previous record of 950.9 hPa set in 1988. In areas of low pressure, weather is often unsettled, and Amy proved no exception, delivering heavy rain and powerful winds across the region.
The storm’s toll was grim in places. In Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland, a man in his 40s died in what police described as a “weather-related incident” shortly after 4:15pm on Friday. The Irish government responded by issuing its highest-level wind warning in County Donegal, advising residents to shelter in place between 4pm and 6pm. Hundreds of schools across the island of Ireland closed early as a precaution, and the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said approximately 184,000 homes, farms, and businesses in the Republic of Ireland were without power at 5:15pm Friday. About 50,000 properties in Northern Ireland were also left without electricity, according to NIE Networks. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) was working to reconnect 62,000 customers on Saturday morning, but thousands remained in the dark as the day progressed.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 30 flood warnings in place on Saturday, and the Environment Agency issued six in the north of England and one in north Wales. The Met Office warned that rainfall totals could exceed 30 to 50mm in six to nine hours over western Scotland, increasing the risk of flooding. The Environment Agency cautioned, “Avoid using low-lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses. Take care and avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water.”
Disruption extended to the built environment as well. In Glasgow, a derelict building collapsed onto a car on Friday, leading to road closures in the city centre. High winds and flooding led to further power cuts in the Highlands and on several islands, some of which were among the hardest-hit areas. The Scottish government urged people to delay travel if possible and to check ahead before setting out, echoing advice from Transport Scotland to plan journeys carefully and monitor updates from operators.
Despite the chaos, there was a glimmer of relief on the horizon. The Met Office predicted that wind and rain would ease through Saturday evening for much of the country, although severe gales were forecast to persist in northeast Scotland with a yellow warning in effect from midnight Saturday to 9am Sunday, covering Orkney, Shetland, the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. By Sunday, Storm Amy was expected to have moved further out into the North Sea, bringing drier weather and lighter winds for most areas, though outbreaks of rain were expected to develop in the northwest.
Looking ahead, the Met Office reminded the public that the next storm on the list would be named Bram, as part of the annual tradition of naming storms to raise awareness and encourage preparedness. The aftermath of Storm Amy, however, will likely linger in the memories of those who experienced its force firsthand—a powerful reminder of the unpredictable and sometimes destructive nature of autumn weather in the British Isles.
