The first major autumn storm of the season has battered northwestern France, leaving a trail of disruption in its wake. Named Austen by UK forecasters, the system intensified rapidly over the Atlantic before slamming into the French coast, with Brittany bearing the brunt of the overnight assault from Thursday into Friday.
By Friday morning, 23 departments were on orange alert for high winds, as the storm pushed eastward into Normandy and Hauts-de-France. Coastal areas experienced the strongest gusts, with a peak of 161 km/h recorded at Pointe du Raz in Finistère. Several weather stations reported wind speeds that broke October records, underscoring the unusual intensity of the event.
Power cuts and transport chaos
The impact on daily life has been significant. Around 161,000 households in the northwest—particularly in Brittany, Pays de la Loire, and Normandy—were left without electricity on Friday. Fallen trees and hazardous conditions also forced the suspension of several rail lines as a precaution, while bridges in Seine-Maritime were closed to traffic.
Local authorities have urged residents to remain cautious, warning that the storm is not yet over. The winds are expected to continue moving eastward, affecting other parts of the country and beyond.
Storm spreads across Europe
The storm's reach extends well beyond France. The UK Met Office issued an amber warning—the second-highest alert level—for gusts up to 130 km/h in Cornwall and Devon as Austen arrived early on Friday. By late morning, National Grid reported that more than 16,000 homes in the southwest of England had lost power.
Winds of up to 100 km/h are forecast across southern and central England throughout the day, as the storm tracks along the English Channel coast. In Germany, where the system has been named Luise by the national weather service, gusts of similar intensity are expected in the west and northwest.
This storm follows closely on the heels of Storm Adam, which struck southern France and Spain just days earlier, bringing severe thunderstorms and torrential rain. Adam caused flooding in the Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, and Var departments, and left at least six people dead across Spain and southern France, including two in France. Thousands of households also lost power during that event.
Meteorologists are now tracking a second system, named Boelo, which is expected to bring more wind and heavy rain later in the weekend. The consecutive storms highlight an unusually active start to the autumn weather pattern across Western Europe.
As communities begin to assess the damage, the focus remains on restoring power and ensuring safety. The rapid succession of storms serves as a reminder of the increasing volatility of European weather, a trend that has been observed in recent years. For now, residents from Brittany to the English Channel are bracing for further unsettled conditions.
