Hundreds of flights were cancelled and trains disrupted as the second named storm in two days battered parts of the UK with 80mph winds.
Storm Boelo hit the far north of England, Scotland and the north-east of Northern Ireland, which were placed under amber weather warnings on Saturday night, the Met Office’s second-most severe classification.
The warnings for Scotland and the North of England were expected to last until 9pm on Sunday.
“Amber warnings are in place across mainland Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England, where gusts of 60-70mph are expected widely, with the potential for 80mph in exposed coastal locations,” the Met Office’s chief forecaster said.
“Strong winds will also affect other parts of the UK, with gusts of 50-60mph possible in places. Heavy rain will provide an additional hazard, particularly in the north, bringing the potential for further impacts.”
The agency warned that flying debris and strong waves would pose a danger to life and advised staying indoors and preparing for power outages and travel chaos.
National Rail said strong winds and flooding could cause severe disruption to its services, including on ScotRail, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), Northern and Greater Anglia railways.
LNER cancelled nearly all of its trains to and from Aberdeen, and reduced its services in Northallerton, Newcastle and Edinburgh to one train per hour in each direction.
More than 1500 flights travelling to and from airports including London Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow were delayed by an average of two hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The storm came one day after Storm Austen left thousands of homes in the South of England without power and destroyed part of Brighton’s historic West Pier.
Downpours and strong winds continued into Saturday morning on Loch Lomond and in parts of Wiltshire and North Wales.
Hours later, Storm Boelo brought heavy rains and winds of 75mph in South Uist Range, Western Isles, Highland and Eilean Siar in Scotland, with peak gusts of up to 80mph expected in some coastal areas.
Video on social media showed a river of water rushing through the streets in the town of Largs in the west of Scotland.
Edinburgh Castle announced it would close because of the weather, while London cancelled its annual Diwali on the Square celebrations.
On Saturday afternoon the Met Office warned of a “widely wet and very windy” weekend, with “damaging gusts likely across the north of the UK”.
It also issued yellow weather warnings for wind and rain further south, including Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.
National Highways closed roads, carriageways and bridges across the North East and Midlands and urged drivers to be cautious because of the gales.
Sharing photos of a trampoline and garden shed nearly touching stalled trains, Network Rail appealed for people to secure their outdoor furniture to avoid further disruptions.