Thousands without power as rain and wind continues
10 minutes ago
Caroline Robinson
South West
Thousands of homes are without power, and disruption is continuing across Devon and Cornwall after more stormy weather.
On Friday,Storm Austen battered the south-west of Englandbefore moving to other parts of the UK.
On Saturday, theMet Officeissued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain from 11:00 BST until 23:00 for the South West, in association with Storm Boelo.
In Devon and Cornwall, flights and trains have been cancelled. The National Grid said more than 3,200 properties were without power in Cornwall, and more than 760 in Devon.
Skybus said flights remained on hold due to adverse weather conditions, and due to a tree blocking the railway between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton the line was closed.
Near Truro, the Arborist cafe, has been welcoming people who do not have power in their homes.
Louise Martin, co-owner, said: "We do this for the storms now, we did it in Storm Goretti, we've got a free tea and coffee station with water and biscuits.
"People can come down and there's no pressure to buy anything here.
She said: "You can help yourself to tea and coffee, bring a book, we've got games here... and you can charge your phones and devices, and if you want, bring flasks and things to fill up with hot water."
"It's a bit miserable being at home and being cold," she added.
Julie and Andrew Le Masurier said they had been without power since early Friday morning and they were not expecting it to be back on until Sunday.
Julia said they had their own water supply so were unable to pump the water.
"It was a brilliant surprise to walk in here and find out that they've just got open house and free tea and coffee and stay as long as you like," she said.
"It's lovely, lovely thing to do for the community."
Linda Jane Ludlow, BBC Weather Presenter, said: "As the second storm in two days sweeps across the country, Storm Boelo is bringing some persistent rain, at times heavy, for the rest of the afternoon and then this evening we will see a band or particularly heavy and squally showers from early evening in the south west and west, clearing the region by midnight.
"The likelihood of surface water flooding, alongside gusty southwest veering northwest strong winds with gusts up to 50 mph (80 km/h) in the far southwest and 45-50mph (72 km/h - 80 km/h) in the west, will make conditions challenging for driving.
"Overnight, a weak ridge of high pressure moves in with drier conditions. Tomorrow will be drier and brighter with sunny spells but still with some gusty strong winds, which will decrease in strength throughout the afternoon."
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