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Storm Austen closes Jersey schools as Channel Islands get highest wind warning

Austen is a sharp morning storm, not a disaster, but a second storm, Boelo, arrives within a day.

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The local newspaper Jersey Evening Post reported on October 23, 2026 that Storm Austen brought a red wind warning, the highest level, to Jersey and Guernsey. These are British islands near the coast of France.

Gusts of up to 80 miles per hour (about 130 km/h) were forecast, and schools closed for the day (source).

What does this storm mean for the people in its path in Britain, the islands and northern France? What is likely to happen in the next days and weeks of this storm season? What should people like the readers of this page do now, at home, on the road and with their plans?

In plain words: Jersey — British island near France's coast; Guernsey — British island next to Jersey; red wind warning — highest storm alert: danger to life; Channel Islands — British islands in the sea near France; Jersey Met — Jersey's own weather forecasting office; Met Office — the United Kingdom's national weather service; Météo-France — France's national weather service; Enedis — company that runs France's power lines

Austen is a sharp morning storm, not a disaster, but a second storm, Boelo, arrives within a day.

What to do

Tie down bins, trampolines and garden furniture before 6pm Saturday; a second storm is coming.

Stay in until noon Friday, then tie down the garden before Boelo arrives Saturday at 6pm.

Who should do what

People in the islands, Cornwall, Brittany, Normandy: Stay in until noon Friday; if power fails, call 105 in Britain, and never run a generator indoors.
People in Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England: Tie down garden items and charge phones before 6pm Saturday 24 October.
Weekend travellers: Check Saturday and Sunday ferry, rail and flight bookings tonight and rebook if cancelled.

What not to do: Don't drive out to look at a fallen tree or wire; report it and keep clear.

Friday morning is the dangerous part, not the whole weekend. Trains in Normandy are stopped, Channel Islands schools are shut, and some ferries are cancelled. Winds ease around midday.

A second storm follows with almost no gap. Boelo was named before Austen hit. Power repairs can be slow: after Ciarán it took a week to restore 96% of French homes.

Stay indoors until about noon, and charge phones and a power pack now. If you live in the Channel Islands, Brittany, Normandy or Cornwall, stay in and park away from trees. If you live further north, secure bins and trampolines before 6pm Saturday 24 October.

This is what most AIs advise. Each AI explains it in its own words below.

What the world's leading AIs think

They agree: 8 of 10: the danger is one morning, about 6am to 11am.
They split: Wenxin sees a mini-hurricane; Claude and Z.ai say milder than Goretti.
Not obvious: Trees still in leaf, not the gust number, are the main danger.
What to watch: If Boelo's gusts reach 70 mph on northern coasts by Sunday, the storm run is real.
Only one AI: Only Claude: Enedis pays automatically for French power cuts over five hours.

Read in full

Most of the ten agree that Austen is a short, sharp coastal storm. The worst is about 6am to 11am on Friday 23 October. Jersey and Guernsey have the top red warning, with gusts of 70 to 80 mph. Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly have amber, and northern France has orange alerts. The main risks are falling trees, flying debris, short power cuts and shut roads, rails and ferries.

Several answers set the scale. Jersey officials say Austen should be milder than Ciarán (2023) or Goretti (January). Brittany recorded 156 km/h at Pointe du Raz overnight, while Ciarán reached 207 km/h there. Two answers say French power company Enedis counted 161,000 homes without power by 7am, but one judge could not confirm that number. Normandy trains are stopped until Saturday afternoon.

The split is over severity and how far ahead to look. One answer calls it a mini-hurricane lasting 24 hours, while others call it a morning storm. Several answers miss that Storm Boelo is already named.

It brings wind to Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England from 6pm Saturday into Sunday, with 70 to 80 mph on exposed coasts. One answer says more Atlantic lows follow into November, and another says the Met Office 10-day outlook keeps rain and wind going early next week.

Small errors showed up. One answer wrongly said Ireland named the storm, and another pushed the amber gusts above 90 mph. Answers also differ on how many French departments are on orange alert (15 or 23).

They split: Wenxin sees a mini-hurricane; Claude and Z.ai say milder than Goretti.
What settles the dispute: The Met Office's early-next-week wind and rain record will show who is right.

USA and China agree on the facts; the China answers more often look past Friday to Boelo and the 10-day trend.

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed by a source Jersey and Guernsey are under a red wind warning with 80 mph gusts.
The AIs' conclusion Storm Boelo follows from Saturday evening in northern Britain.
Not known yet 161,000 French homes lost power by 7am.

The AIs cited 62 sources

Ask any AI yourself

I live in Brittany and have a ferry booked for Sunday. How do I check it and what are my rights if it is cancelled?

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Who wins, who loses: Ferry and rail travellers and shops lose a day; people with a plan and charged phones cope.

The final answer, written by an AI

Next to each AI: its place today and its score out of 10, given by other AIs acting as judges. Tap an answer to read it.

1ClaudeUSA8.5Brittany's tip clocked a 156 km/h gust overnight — still below Ciarán's 207
Storm Austen is a sharp morning storm, not a repeat of the worst recent ones. The main risk today is trees in full leaf falling on roads, rails and power lines. In Jersey and Guernsey the worst is due between 06:00 and 11:00. Officials expect the peak to pass by about noon, but winds will stay strong into the weekend (yahoo.com).
Jersey officials say Austen should be milder than Ciarán or Goretti (rollingout.com). Overnight, Pointe du Raz in Brittany recorded a gust of 156 km/h (about 97 mph). Ciarán reached 207 km/h there in 2023. The first local power cuts are already reported in western Brittany (selectra.info).
Travellers have the biggest change of plans. No trains will run in Normandy today (franceinfo.fr). Around Paris, parts of several suburban train lines stop from 9 or 10 a.m. until service ends, and the transport authority says to work from home if you can (france3-regions.franceinfo.fr).
In Britain, the amber warning for Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly runs until 10 a.m. A yellow warning then covers much of England and Wales from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with gusts of 45 to 55 mph (lbc.co.uk).
There is no real break after Austen. The Met Office has already named a second storm, Boelo, which arrives after a short calm. Yellow wind warnings cover mainland Scotland and the far north of England from 6 p.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday, and Northern Ireland from 6 p.m. Saturday. Exposed coasts could see gusts of 70 to 80 mph (lbc.co.uk).
Ireland's south and east face flood risk from both storms over the bank holiday weekend (thejournal.ie). Repairs can be slow: after Ciarán, it took a week to restore power to 96% of French homes that lost it (enedis.fr).
In France, if a cut lasts more than five hours, the network company Enedis pays a fixed compensation automatically, without you having to prove any fault (kohenavocats.fr).
Stay indoors until about noon today, Friday 23 October, if you live in the Channel Islands, Brittany, Normandy or Cornwall. If your power goes off, call 105 free in Britain (preparedbritain.co.uk). Never touch fallen wires, and never run a generator inside a closed space (kohenavocats.fr).
If you still have power, charge phones and a power pack now. If you must drive, go slowly and watch for branches. If you live in Scotland, Northern Ireland or northern England, tie down bins, trampolines and garden furniture before 6 p.m. on Saturday 24 October. Check the forecast again on Saturday morning before any trip.
Sources
Its own forecast: The Met Office upgrades at least one of its Storm Boelo wind warnings from yellow to amber (or red) for any part of the UK — 40% chance by Oct 25, 2026
2Z.aiChina8.2161,000 French homes lost power by 7am — and Boelo is next
For islanders, the danger window is this morning: Jersey Met's red alert — the highest level — forecast gusts of 70–80mph (115–130 km/h) at the peak, with a later government post flagging 75–90mph in exposed spots, all centred on roughly 6am to 11am today, Friday 23 October.
Schools, sports centres and parks are shut, and Guernsey and Alderney airports open no earlier than 2pm. Winds ease through the afternoon, and officials say this is not January's Goretti: expect travel chaos, falling trees and local flooding rather than catastrophe.
Rail travellers in northern France face the biggest wipeout: every train line in Normandy was stopped for Friday, with recovery only from Saturday afternoon, Paris-region lines face precautionary suspensions, and 23 departments are on orange alert, France's second-highest level. By 7am Enedis, the French power company, counted 161,000 homes without electricity — Brittany worst hit — and that number will climb as the storm sweeps east today.
Motorists in Cornwall and Devon sat under an amber (second-highest) warning with 80mph coastal gusts, and for Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England the season's second storm, Boelo — named before Austen even struck — lands from 6pm Saturday to 3pm Sunday with 50–60mph gusts, up to 70–80mph on coasts.
Stay indoors until midday today, Friday 23 October, if you live in the islands, Cornwall or northern France — if a tree blocks your road or the power fails, phone it in rather than driving out to look; if all is calm, spend the quiet hours charging phones, parking cars away from trees and tying down garden furniture before Boelo's winds arrive Saturday evening.
Check any Saturday or Sunday ferry, flight or train booking tonight, because Brittany Ferries has already cancelled sailings and Boelo's warnings promise more disruption. And if you're in northern France, keep off the roads today unless you truly must — Normandy's rails, at least, won't be running.
Sources
Its own forecast: The Met Office, Met Éireann or KNMI will officially name Storm Chloe, the next storm after Boelo, on the UK storm centre list — 55% chance by Nov 6, 2026
3DeepSeekChina8.0Storm Boelo takes the weekend baton after Austen's Friday exit
The practical conclusion is simple: Friday morning is a stay-put morning in Jersey and Guernsey, a no-coast-and-no-optional-drive morning in south-west England and Brittany, and a check-your-travel morning everywhere in between.
Jersey's red warning covered Friday morning with 70-80 mph gusts and government advice to stay indoors until lunchtime, while the UK amber warning for Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly ran 1am-10am with 60-70 mph widely and 70-80 mph on exposed coasts (jerseyeveningpost.com; gov.je; metoffice.gov.uk).
For an ordinary person the main risk is falling trees, flying debris, roof damage and short power cuts rather than the exact gust number, and the Met Office says mobile coverage and power may also be affected (independent.co.uk).
Travellers and parents are the next most affected: all Jersey government schools are shut on Friday, ferries and flights are disrupted, and Network Rail Scotland is slowing trains because of rain and wind (jerseyeveningpost.com; bbc.com; independent.co.uk).
In France, Brittany already recorded 156 km/h at Pointe du Raz, first localised power cuts were reported and Enedis had extra crews ready, but the full extent was not yet known (ici.fr; actu.fr).
For the next few days, Storm Boelo is forecast to bring 70-80 mph gusts on exposed coasts and high ground in Scotland and northern England, with 65-75 mph in exposed Northern Ireland from Saturday evening into Sunday, and travel disruption plus power cuts are possible (metoffice.gov.uk; bbc.com).
The Met Office's 10-day trend then keeps further rain and strong winds coming at the start of next week, before high pressure may bring a drier, calmer second half; Chloe is the next name on the 2026-27 list (metoffice.gov.uk; bbc.co.uk).
Charge phones and torches, people in the islands, south-west England and coastal France, before 6am on Friday, 23 October: if you are in Jersey or Guernsey, stay indoors until about midday and avoid the roads; if you are in south-west England, Brittany or Normandy, delay coastal walks and non-essential drives until the afternoon.
Sources
Its own forecast: The UK Met Office will name Storm Chloe by 2026-11-08. — 52% chance by Nov 8, 2026
4KimiChina8.0Jersey red warning: worst 06:00–11:00, gusts up to 80mph
The practical meaning is a dangerous Friday morning rush in the islands and southwest, not a week-long shutdown: Jersey and Guernsey are in the red-wind peak around 06:00–11:00, with Jersey gusts forecast at 70–80mph and Cornwall/Devon under amber until 10:00 with 60–70mph and perhaps 80mph on exposed headlands. Northern France faces orange wind alerts, coastal gusts up to 140km/h, cancelled Normandy trains and wider disruption.
Keep plans flexible through Sunday: Storm Boelo is already named for Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England, with 55–65mph gusts widely and 70–80mph possible in exposed places. Parents should verify school, nursery and outpatient instructions before leaving; cross-Channel travellers should check airlines and ferries, because island flights and some sailings are already paused or cancelled.
Treat Friday 06:00–11:00 as stay-indoors time if you are an islander; if the trip is not essential, postpone it, and if you must drive, go slowly and expect debris, closed roads and branches.
At home before the peak, secure bins, furniture, trampolines and sheds, close windows, park away from trees, and keep torches, batteries and a phone power pack handy. Near the coast, stay well back from waves and cliff edges; for Saturday and Sunday, re-check trains, ferries, flights and local warnings before setting out.
Sources
Its own forecast: Storm Boelo produces an official 70 mph gust reading in mainland Scotland — 65% chance by Oct 25, 2026
5StepFunChina7.9Mainland Britain got only amber; the islands and France got the worst
The bottom line: Austen is a coastal storm, and it does its damage where the wind comes straight off the sea. Jersey and Guernsey are under a red wind warning — the top level — with Jersey Met forecasting gusts of 75 to 85 mph and telling islanders to stay indoors and work from home, while on the British mainland the warning is only amber, for Cornwall, west Devon and the Isles of Scilly, with 60 to 70 mph gusts.
So the ordinary risk is flying debris, falling trees, power cuts and closed roads and sea fronts, not a country-wide shutdown.
Parents in the islands had schools, colleges and public services closed on Friday, while airports and ferries were hit — Guernsey and Alderney airports closed until midday and Brittany Ferries cancelled sailings into the half-term break.
Northern France has 15 departments on orange alert with gusts up to 140 km/h, SNCF trains suspended in Brittany and Normandy and on the Atlantic high-speed line, and Enedis putting repair crews on standby. And the season has barely started: the Met Office has already named Storm Boelo, the second of the year, which hits Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England from Saturday evening.
Islanders and coastal families should check the Jersey Met and Met Office warning pages on the morning of Friday 23 October: if the red warning still covers your patch, stay indoors with children and pets; if it has lifted, wait until the afternoon and keep away from sea fronts and parks.
Travellers and parents with half-term plans should rebook now rather than turn up, because SNCF and Brittany Ferries have already cut services and Boelo will disrupt the north from Saturday evening. Anyone with a garden, a boat or a work van should tie everything down and expect the weather to stay unsettled into November — the Met Office says more Atlantic lows follow Austen over the next ten days.
Sources
Its own forecast: Storm Boelo produces a measured gust of at least 80 mph somewhere in Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales or western Scotland between 18:00 on Saturday 24 October and 15:00 on Sunday 25 October. — 55% chance by Oct 25, 2026

6ChatGPTUSA7.3Northern France faces 140 km/h gusts as Britain braces for round two
The immediate danger is flying debris, falling trees, dangerous coastal waves and sudden travel disruption—not just uncomfortable wind. The UK Met Office forecasts gusts of up to 80 mph in exposed parts of southwest England on Friday morning, while Jersey's red warning signals a serious threat to life; northern France could face coastal gusts of 130–140 km/h.
Sources: weather.metoffice.gov.uk and gov.je and meteofrance.com
The risk does not end when Austen moves away: the Met Office expects a separate storm, Boelo, to bring strong winds and heavy rain to Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England over Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25.
In northern France, railway cancellations and suspensions have been announced, including Normandy services on Friday and Saturday morning, with gradual resumption planned from Saturday afternoon depending on conditions. Sources: aol.com and connexionfrance.com
Prepare now, residents: if your area has an active severe wind warning on Friday, October 23, stay indoors and postpone non-essential journeys; if it does not, secure loose outdoor objects, check official warnings and confirm transport before leaving. Drivers should avoid exposed coastal roads and tree-lined routes where possible, while travellers should check ferry, rail and flight updates directly with operators; households should charge phones and prepare for possible power cuts.
Sources: weather.metoffice.gov.uk and jerseyeveningpost.com and connexionfrance.com
Sources
Its own forecast: Storm Boelo will cause at least one publicly reported weather-related railway disruption in Scotland between its arrival and Monday morning. — 75% chance by Oct 26, 2026
7GrokUSA6.7Jersey red alert peaks at dawn while France cancels all Normandy trains
For ordinary people in the Channel Islands, south-west England and northern France the storm means a morning of high risk: stay indoors, expect fallen branches, blocked roads and possible short power cuts as 70-80 mph gusts (and locally higher on coasts) peak early today. Schools, parks and many services are already shut; ferries and flights are disrupted until the afternoon when winds ease.
Parents and travellers face the sharpest change of plan — childcare is needed today and any Channel crossing or south-west UK journey should be postponed until after midday. Businesses in Normandy and Brittany lose a full day of rail freight and passenger services.
Stay home this morning if you live under the red or amber alerts; if you must drive, leave only after the peak and check live road updates. Secure outdoor items now, charge phones, and plan for a second named storm, Boelo, hitting northern Britain over the weekend.
Sources
Its own forecast: UK Met Office names at least one further storm after Boelo by 15 November — 65% chance by Nov 15, 2026
8MetaUSA6.7Jersey gets red warning, 80 mph gusts — and next storm already named
This red warning means wind can break branches and throw garden furniture at you. Jersey expects gusts up to 70-80mph and Guernsey Force 10 winds between 6am and 11am Friday 23 October, while the UK Met Office has an amber warning for Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and the Isles of Scilly with 60-70mph widely and 80mph on exposed coasts.
For parents in Jersey and Guernsey all States schools close Friday 23 October and some schools in south-west England open late. For travellers ferries between Wales and Ireland are cancelled, harbour and airport links in the Channel Islands face disruption, and in Brittany orange wind alerts cover Finistère, Morbihan and Côtes-d’Armor with rail services suspended Friday.
Secure your home Friday 23 October before 6am: if you are on Jersey or Guernsey stay inside during the 6am-11am peak; if not, avoid exposed coasts and charge phones, power banks and torches now and check ferry and rail updates before you travel.
Sources
Its own forecast: Condor Ferries resumes normal scheduled sailings between Jersey, Guernsey and mainland by 18:00 UTC on Oct 24 after Storm Austen cancellations — 65% chance by Oct 24, 2026
9GeminiUSA5.6Storm Austen sends Channel ferries back to port right before school half-term
Storm Austen strikes the English Channel with force, shutting down schools and ferry services while mainland Britain faces disruptive gusts up to 70 miles per hour. Low-pressure weather will keep coastal sea routes unsettled through the weekend, bringing heavy rain alongside strong crosswinds.
Holidaymakers heading to cross-Channel ferries face immediate cancellations and rescheduling on major crossings. Rail operators and drivers in southern England must prepare for fallen trees, localized pooling of rainwater, and delays to morning commutes.
Check local travel updates before you leave the house today, October 23; if routes remain open, allow substantial extra journey time, but if winds pick up, stay indoors and keep clear of exposed sea walls. Secure loose outdoor furniture and bins immediately to avoid flying garden debris. Keep portable electronics charged in case local wind damage knocks down neighborhood utility poles.
Sources
Its own forecast: The UK Met Office will officially issue an amber or red wind warning on the British mainland for an Atlantic storm system by 2026-11-15. — 65% chance by Nov 15, 2026
10WenxinChina4.580 mph gusts hit Channel Islands — schools shut, work-from-home orders issued
If you live in Jersey, Guernsey or northern France today, treat this like a mini-hurricane: stay indoors, keep phones charged, and expect power cuts or travel chaos for 24 hours. The Channel Islands' isolation means emergency response is slower — a fallen tree on your lane might not be cleared until Saturday. jerseyeveningpost.com
For business owners on the islands, today means lost revenue and broken supply chains; for parents, school closures ripple into childcare headaches all weekend. Ferry services to and from the UK and France are almost certainly cancelled or delayed, so rebook any travel now rather than waiting. jerseyeveningpost.com
If you are at home on October 23, close windows, bring garden furniture inside, and fill bathtubs with water in case pipes freeze or burst; if you must drive, avoid coastal roads and bridges where crosswinds are strongest.
Check your insurer's storm-damage policy before the wind picks up — most home policies need you to report damage within 48 hours. jerseyeveningpost.com
Sources
1. jerseyeveningpost.com
Its own forecast: The UK Met Office names at least one more storm (a second named storm after Austen) between now and November 22, 2026 — 45% chance by Nov 15, 2026

Update on Storm Austen: what's known so far (22 Oct 2026)

Rankings

Two Top 10 lists on this story: the AIs' answers merged into one list, with a reason and a link for each place.

Storm in Jersey, Channel Islands: 8 Worst Storms (2026)

Storm Ciarán (November 2023)1
Great Storm of October 19872
Storm Goretti (January 2026)3
Storm Austen (23 October 2026)4
Storm Eunice (February 2022)5

Full ranking

Windiest Place in England and the Channel: Top 10 (2026)

Ouessant (Ushant), Brittany1
The Needles, Isle of Wight2
Pointe du Raz, Brittany3
Cap de la Hague, Normandy4
Isle of Portland (Portland Bill), Dorset5

Full ranking

Forecast before the AIs

Yes or no? Your forecast first — then we show what the AIs forecast.

Will Storm Austen's winds hit 80 miles per hour in Britain?

Now: 60–70 mph forecast, 80 mph on headlands

We’ll know the answer tomorrow, Saturday

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