Tara Mewawalla
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Storm Austen caused major disruption throughout the day. Trains have been cancelled, trees felled, buildings damaged and homes left without power.

The storm made landfall in south-west England overnight and tracked eastwards throughout the day.

Jersey saw gusts of up to 84mph (135km/h) while in Brighton, on the south coast, part of the iconic West Pier - an abandoned structure that first opened in 1866 - collapsed into the sea.

National Grid confirmed this afternoon it had restored power to more than 60,000 homes who were left without due to the storm. However, there are thousands still affected by power cuts.

Tonight, yellow rain warnings are in place for parts of southern Scotland until 23:59 BST. Yellow wind warnings for large swathes of south-east England, North West England, Wales and the West Midlands will end at 21:00.

Austen - the first named storm of the season - is easing, but a second storm is brewing.

After a brief respite from the heavy rain and winds, Storm Boelo will bring heavy and persistent rain spreading across the country throughout Saturday.

Boelo is also forecast to bring more strong winds across the country over the weekend. During the days, a yellow wind warning will be in place for vast swathes of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland. This will become an amber warning in Scotland from 21:00 on Saturday.

We are ending our live coverage now but you can keep up to date with the latest on Storm Austen and Storm Boelo in our news story.

James Kelly
Your Voice

"There were a few 'oohs' and 'ahhs' when the first landing was aborted," Steven, a passenger on board a flight diverted from Bournemouth to Luton tells the BBC.

Steven and his family - including mum Tammy and daughters Isabella (11) and Imogen (14) were returning after a holiday in Portugal when their flight aborted two landings.

strong winds meant the pilot on their Ryanair flight had to cancel his plans to land on the Dorset coast.

"You could almost hear people breathing again when the jets kicked back in. Both times we descended, then the jets kicked in and took us back up," Steven explains.

"I can't describe how much it was rocking - the landing gear was down."

And, the family's journey home is further complicated by the fact they live on the Isle of Wight.

"All the ferry crossings back to the island have been cancelled so we're having to stay in a hotel tonight when we finally get back to Bournemouth," he tells us.

Mary Litchfield
UGC Hub

Image source, Alejandra Gallegos-Vergara

Where Alejandra Gallegos-Vergara lives in Kent, the storm has left her and her family left without power and caused the road to flood.

The chicken run needed emergency reinforcement to withstand the height of the storm and the family have been "doing our best to keep everyone dry, safe and relatively unimpressed by the weather!"

Among them is a very important player in the upkeep of the chicken run - her dog, Benji.

She tells the BBC Benji has been "promoted to storm warden" and is "fully kitted out in his bright rain overalls, making sure he stays visible in the wind and rain".

If the weather gets too bad, she says the chickens will be brought indoors for "a cosy sleepover in our bathroom".

Ben Rich
Lead Weather Presenter

Storm Austen is clearing eastwards and the winds will slowly ease overnight.

The remaining Met Office yellow wind warning in parts of England and Wales is due to expire at 21:00 BST.

Heavy rain will continue in places during the evening, especially in eastern Scotland where a Met Office yellow rain warning is in force until 23:59.

This will also clear and parts of the UK will see a zone of clear, chilly weather for at least part of the night.

This essentially marks the separation between Storm Austen and Storm Boelo.

However, the gap won’t last long. Rain will arrive in western parts of the UK by early Saturday morning – the first sign of Boelo’s arrival.

That rain will spread across the country during the day, becoming heavy and persistent.

Winds will pick up again with gales around many coasts - peaking overnight on Saturday and into Sunday with the Met Office amber wind warning covering almost all of Scotland, the far north of Northern Ireland and some northern parts of England.

Storm Austen continues to cause major disruption to travel in Wales, Scotland and England.

In Wales, some services are being disrupted into the evening. Transport for Wales says there will disruption between Llanhilleth and Newbridge until 21:00 due to a tree blocking the railway.

Disruption is also expected between Wrexham General and Bidston until 21:00 BST due to a signalling issue.

Meanwhile, services to and from Carmarthen and Fishguard Harbour, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock are cancelled and disruption could continue until Sunday night.

Similarly, trains between Swansea and Shrewsbury will be cancelled. And the service says they may cancel trains between Chester and Holyhead and Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth over the weekend.

Earlier, we reported that services in England and Scotland were warning of further service issues, cancellations and delays over the weekend.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Today:

• Yellow rain warning for parts of north England and Scotland until 23:59 BST
• Yellow wind warning for parts of west, east and south England and parts of Wales until 21:00

• For the above, the Met Office warns power cuts may occur, roads may close and there could be damage to buildings and danger to life from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts

Saturday:

• Yellow wind warning from 12:00 tomorrow to 21:00 on Sunday across northern England and all of Scotland
• An amber wind warning is in place within this area, and including part of Northern Ireland from 21:00 tomorrow to 21:00 on Sunday
• The Met Office says there is a danger to life, and a good chance power cuts may occur which could affect mobile phone coverage
• It warns that driving in these conditions can be dangerous
• There is also a yellow wind warning in place from 10:00 tomorrow to 12:00 on Sunday covering Northern Ireland

Through the day we've been hearing reports of trees crashing down as a result of Storm Austen's powerful winds.

In Jersey, a wall was crushed after wind gusts of up to 84mph (135kmh/h) uprooted a tree, and travel disruption has been reported in the South West after branches fell and blocked railway lines.

And, in the video below, you can see how a tree came close to collapsing on the roof of a property in Somerset.

Malcolm Prior
Rural affairs producer

The vulnerable and elderly members of storm-hit communities have been at the forefront of concern for care services across the South West.

Evie Drew and her fellow carers based around Truro and Falmouth, Cornwall, found rural roads closed by fallen trees so had to help cover each others’ clients, including many who had suffered power cuts.

Drew tells the BBC: "That's why it's been extra important that we make sure that our clients have the appropriate equipment around them.

“They need enough food, enough fluids and we’re ensuring they have their correct medication.

“We've also been making sure that people have enough warmth – so that’s things like blankets and, in case the power cuts off, we've been making sure people have hot water bottles and flasks just to keep people warm if they have restricted mobility and don’t have people popping in all the time.

“This morning's been especially difficult for us because of trees being down. This has meant that travel has been restricted for different carers so everyone's had to be mucking in.”

National Grid says it has restored power to more than 60,000 homes in the wake of Storm Austen.

According to its website, there are still hundreds of homes without power following dozens of reported incidents across the south west, Wales and the Midlands.

Amy Webb, the chief operating officer at National Grid electricity distribution, says engineers are working to repair the damage across the affected areas "as quickly and safely as possible".

Image source, National Grid

Image source, Met Office

Some rail lines in the north and west of Scotland will close during Storm Boelo, which is due to hit the UK after Storm Austen this weekend.

Services south and west of Kilwinning will stop from 21:00 BST on Saturday night and the Oban and Mallaig lines will shut an hour later at 22:00, Network Rail Scotland says.

In a statement, the service adds that the line between Kyle of Lochalsh and Achnashellach will be closed from the start of service on Sunday, as well as the railway between Wick and Helmsdale.

Trains will also run at reduced speeds across large parts of Scotland as the storm moves through.

This is separate to the speed restrictions already in place in Scotland caused by the impacts of Storm Austen.

"We know closing lines and slowing trains will have a significant impact on people’s plans this weekend, and these aren’t decisions we take lightly," says head of operational strategy for the network Craig Gorman.

ScotRail has imposed speed restrictions on services running between Laurenckirk and Stonehaven due to the weather.

The rail operator says this means that services from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Queen Street to Aberdeen could be delayed by up to 15 minutes, while services from Aberdeen to Montrose are being withdrawn.

Guernsey Airport has cancelled all of its remaining inbound and outbound flights tonight.

It's advising anyone due to travel through the airport over the weekend to check with their airline for fight updates.

In a post on Facebook, the airport said: "We are sorry if your trip has been impacted by Storm Austen. Guernsey Airport remains open for some aircraft that will be repositioning from the UK this evening, ready to resume flying tomorrow morning."

James Kelly
Your Voice

Charlie Wright tells the BBC a power outage meant he was evacuated from a motorway service station as he travelled home to Nottingham.

After a holiday in Chichester with his parents and sister, the 21-year-old says the family had taken a break from driving at Moto Cherwell Valley services when their plans were disrupted.

He says he'd just ordered a drink when staff thought a power issue had taken place at the restaurant.

"A couple of minutes later, the lights went off across the whole building for about ten seconds, and came on again," he explains.

"This repeated four more times with increasing frequency, and then staff started telling people that the building was being evacuated."

Our BBC Weather Watchers have been sending in their snaps of the windy and rainy conditions across the UK.

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/POPPY

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Nisha Vyas

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/ROSIE

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/BETTYS HOT SPOT

Storm Austen reached force 10 in Jersey with wind gusts of up to 84mph (135km/h) overnight, according to Jersey Met.

Force 10 is a measure on the Beaufort wind force scale where trees can be uprooted and buildings damaged.

Paul Aked, head of Jersey Met, says there were gusts in Guernsey up to 76mph (122km/h), which is severe gale force nine.

Storm Boelo is forecast to track much further north than the Channel Islands, leaving Jersey and Guernsey on the fringes of the system, he says.

Jersey Met's forecast indicates further unsettled weather is expected in the coming days.

Storm Austen is disrupting travel across parts of the country as we enter rush hour.

National Rail says routes across England, Wales and Scotland have been impacted, and travel today and over the weekend. While there are no warnings in place for Monday, it says some disruption is still possible depending on the impact of Storms Austen and Boelo.

Great Western Railway warns that there are multiple cancellations to the network, including between Penzance and Taunton.

Some services to Exeter St Davids, Barnstaple, Truro, Falmouth Docks, Yeovil Pen Mill, Basingstoke and Reading have been cancelled due to trees blocking the railways.

CrossCountry services in the Bournemouth area have restarted after a tree blocked the line, though the rail provider advises services may restart from Southampton Central. A different tree is still blocking the line between Lydney and Gloucester.

Scotrail says due to reports of high water levels on the tracks in the Schotts area, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central services are suspended.

Transport for Scotland has advised passengers to avoid all travel tomorrow unless necessary.

Airports in England's south-west and the Channel Islands are also experiencing disruptions.

Rozina Sini
BBC News

Image source, Sara Gatland

Among the travellers forced to stay put is Sara Gatland.

She was due to travel home to Edinburgh today from Guernsey, where her boyfriend lives, but her flight was cancelled, meaning she will miss her Saturday work shift.

"There is a tree down in my boyfriend's garden and the wind is very loud," Sara, 29, tells BBC's Your Voice.

"We can't really do anything today as there are many trees and branches down so we are staying home."

She says that when the pair went out for lunch yesterday they noticed many people out getting supplies in preparation for the storm.

Flights across the South West are seeing disruption, with some flights from Exeter Airport (below) cancelled.

Jersey Airport says flights won't be running "until at least 17:00" while Cornwall Airport Newquay is warning passengers to check with their airline before travel.

Guernsey airport says flights are expected to resume at 16:00. The website is showing multiple cancellations due to the weather this afternoon and evening.

Storm Austen is causing widespread disruption in parts of the UK, leaving thousands of homes without power and travel plans disrupted.

In Brighton, part of the iconic West Pier - an abandoned structure that first opened in 1866 - has collapsed. Stephen Royle, who lives opposite, says the waves rolling in were "enormous" and he is "shocked" by how much of the pier ended up in the sea.

National Grid says almost 18,000 properties have been affected by power cuts today, including 13,000 in Cornwall.

Hannah Dawson-Turk says she and her family had to be evacuated from a holiday park in Perranporth, Cornwall, yesterday afternoon due to the weather, adding "the night before last, it sounded like our caravan was going to be ripped apart".

Earlier today, a wind speed of 84mph was recorded at Jersey Airport, causing trees and other debris to fall and block roads, the infrastructure department said.

National Rail has advised that many routes are travelling at slower speeds, with delays and cancellations possible, while ferry operators Stena Line and Wightlink have cancelled services - more travel advice here.

As we move into Saturday, Storm Boelo - which is travelling higher up in the northern parts of the country - is forecast to bring more strong winds and heavy rain in parts.

The Met Office has put in place an amber warning for wind on Saturday and Sunday to cover parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, while a lower yellow warning for wind also covers other parts.

Catriona Aitken
BBC News

Image source, Weather Watchers/Jonathan Cain

In Wales, the National Grid reports almost 2,000 homes are without power between Milford Haven, in the west, and Usk, in the east.

It says the biggest power cut is in Cardigan, where more than 500 homes are affected.

In north Wales, SP Energy reports power cuts at homes in Pwllheli, Bontnewydd, Llanidloes, Bodelwyddan, Kinmel Bay and Prestatyn.

Two yellow warnings for wind, external are in place, with one ending at 17:00 BST and another at 21:00 in some areas. Periods of heavy rain are also expected.

Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible, with drivers and those using public transport asked to plan ahead, the Met Office advises.