As the remnants of Storm Otto moved out of Scotland, energy firms reported that around 1,300 homes were still without power on Saturday afternoon. Despite the Met Office declaring the storm had “well and truly cleared”, over 1,000 homes in Aberdeenshire remained disconnected from the grid. The forecasting body stated that the storm, which affected more than 60,000 homes, had shifted its focus to Scandinavia.
Utility company Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) confirmed that it had restored power to over 42,000 homes since the storm struck, and was optimistic that most of the remaining households would have their electricity restored by the end of Saturday. However, a small number of homes in isolated and rural areas were likely to take until Sunday evening at the earliest to receive power.
To alleviate the situation, SSEN sent food vans to the main areas still affected, providing sustenance and refreshments to residents until 9pm on Saturday. Gusts of 75-80mph were reported across parts of northern Scotland on Friday, causing chaos as trains and flights were cancelled, roads were blocked by overturned lorries in northern England, and trees came crashing down.
In England, Northern Powergrid explained that around 21,000 customers lost power, with one individual still affected as of 8:30 am on Saturday. In the meantime, a yellow warning for snow and ice remained in place for central Scotland until 9:00 am on Saturday, before milder conditions were expected to take over for the rest of the weekend.
Storm OttoDisaster struck when a man was rushed to hospital in a serious condition after a tree fell on a street in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Police officers were called to the scene at 8:50 am, where they found a 50-year-old man suffering from injuries and a nearby property that had been damaged. Structural engineers were dispatched to assess the situation.
Separately, a tree toppled onto a Porsche on Granby Road in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, catching drivers off guard. Cake business owner Charlie Lowe, 29, captured the scene while on her way to work, describing it as “shocking” and “nerve-wracking”. As the area’s drivers navigated the treacherous conditions, she felt anxious about driving around Harrogate.
The storm, dubbed Otto by the Danish Meteorological Institute, marked the first named storm to directly affect the UK this storm-naming season, which began in September. The Met Office noted that the first storm named by the agency, Irish, and Dutch weather services will still be Storm Antoni, as per the 2022-23 storm name list.