Storm Boelo: severe gales over Ireland, Scotland and England

Storm Austen is still blowing along Spain's northern coast. The main event of this weekend, however, lies further north: west of Ireland, Boelo is growing into one of the deepest lows of this autumn. Our ICON global model expects gusts above 110 km/h for Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

First a look at Spain: Austen is easing

Austen has already reached Spain's northern Atlantic coast. Today it brings gusts of around 66 km/h to A Coruña, and on Friday the Cantabrian coast sees another stronger phase with up to 89 km/h in Santander and 60 km/h in Gijón.

The effect at sea is more pronounced. Off Bilbao, our EWAM wave model expects a significant wave height of 6.7 metres on Friday, and 6.4 metres off Gijón. Individual waves run considerably higher — harbour walls, rocky shorelines and exposed promenades remain dangerous.

By Saturday the situation calms down quickly. Wave heights drop back to three or four metres, and inland and southern Spain stay settled and dry anyway: the model shows 22°C for Madrid on Sunday and 27°C for Málaga, with barely any wind.

With that, Spain is largely out of the story — and Boelo takes over.

Boelo: a low below 950 hPa

On Saturday morning Boelo sits west of Ireland with a central pressure of about 956 hPa. For comparison, at the same moment high pressure of more than 1,030 hPa lies over Spain.

That span of almost 80 hPa across a few thousand kilometres is what drives the whole system. The closer the isobars on the map, the stronger the wind.

In the afternoon the low reaches its deepest point: the central pressure then drops below 950 hPa west of Scotland, and Boelo stays that deep into the night to Sunday. Only a handful of North Atlantic lows reach that depth in any given year.

Friday: Brittany and the English Channel first

The Channel coast goes first. For Friday, ICON global expects peak gusts of 123 km/h in Brest and 113 km/h in Plymouth.

It also turns windy further inland: Brussels reaches 91 km/h, Paris 86 km/h and Liverpool 88 km/h. Cork, on Ireland's south coast, reaches 94 km/h.

Rainfall stays moderate on this day. The larger amounts arrive on Saturday.

Saturday: Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland at the centre

On Saturday the focus shifts clearly to the northwest. Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland then lie directly in the track.

Our model expects 112 km/h in Belfast, 111 km/h in Galway and 108 km/h in Glasgow. Dublin reaches 87 km/h.

Gusts of this order are enough to bring down branches and trees, lift roof tiles and disrupt ferry and air traffic.

Rain comes with it: the model shows 35 mm for Plymouth on this day, 23 mm for Galway, 22 mm for Amsterdam and 19 mm for London.

Where the storm goes: peak gusts over three days

Forecast daily maximum per location · ICON global run of 22 October 2026, 12 UTC

Friday 23 Oct Saturday 24 Oct Sunday 25 Oct

1. 1Belfast N. Ireland112 km/h
2. 2Galway Ireland111 km/h
3. 3Glasgow Scotland108 km/h
4. 4Liverpool England89 km/h
5. 5Dublin Ireland87 km/h
6. 6Brest France86 km/h
7. 7Plymouth England75 km/h
8. 8Kopenhagen Denmark68 km/h

Sunday: Irish Sea, North Sea and Denmark

On Sunday the wind stays strong in the north while reaching further east at the same time.

The highest gust of the whole period is forecast for Liverpool at 116 km/h on the Irish Sea. Belfast reaches 107 km/h and Glasgow 105 km/h.

The eastern flank joins in: Copenhagen 98 km/h, Bergen 97 km/h, Amsterdam 82 km/h. In Oslo it is not the wind that stands out but the rain — ICON global expects 26 mm there in a single day.

The peak gusts at a glance

Location	Fri 23 Oct	Sat 24 Oct	Sun 25 Oct
Brest	123 km/h	86 km/h	81 km/h
Plymouth	113 km/h	75 km/h	69 km/h
Liverpool	88 km/h	89 km/h	116 km/h
Belfast	61 km/h	112 km/h	107 km/h
Galway	54 km/h	111 km/h	90 km/h
Glasgow	31 km/h	108 km/h	105 km/h
Dublin	66 km/h	87 km/h	83 km/h
Copenhagen	55 km/h	68 km/h	98 km/h
Bergen	98 km/h	69 km/h	97 km/h
Paris	86 km/h	61 km/h	65 km/h

Forecast daily maximum per location, ICON global run of 22 October 2026, 12 UTC. These are forecast values, not measurements, and they may change with the next model runs.

Why two lows in a row?

Such double blows are typical of autumn. The reason is the band of strong winds high in the atmosphere, the jet stream.

When it is strong and points straight from North America towards Europe, it acts like a shipping lane: one low after another forms on its leading edge and is carried east across the Atlantic.

Austen travelled that route first and Boelo follows immediately behind. Because the ground is already wet from the first storm, the rain of the second has a greater effect — the water drains away less easily.

Following the situation with meteo365.es

Our forecasts are recalculated four times every day. That makes it possible to follow how track and intensity shift from one run to the next — with storm depressions often by a few hundred kilometres.

On our interactive maps you can see precipitation and air pressure just as in the image above, hour by hour with the time slider. The gust map shows where the wind becomes strongest, and the wave map how high the sea is running off the coast.

There is also RADAR + NowCast — our radar view is prepared from the official radar data of the national weather services, and our own NowCast adds where the rain areas will move within the next hour — along with live webcams and readings from our weather stations.

Anyone living on the coast, or travelling to Ireland, Britain or the Netherlands in the coming days, should keep an eye on the official warnings of the relevant weather service and stay flexible with travel plans.

Weather you can understand. Information you can trust.

Forecast basis: meteo365.es, ICON global model and EWAM wave model, runs of 22 October 2026, 12 UTC. Gusts, rainfall, wave heights and temperatures are forecast values, not measurements. Official warnings are issued by the national weather services.