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Preparing for winter storms & power cuts

How UK storm warnings work, what Arwen and Éowyn taught households, and the short pre-storm checklist that matters — sourced to the Met Office and Ofgem.

By Tom Calder · Updated 6 October 2026 · Sourced to the Met Office, Ofgem & the ENA

In the US? Our sister site has the US version, built on Ready.gov and CDC guidance: PreparedStates.

What’s changed: 6 Oct Corrected our wording on power stations indoors: one gives off no fumes, so it can be used indoors, but it is a large lithium battery to charge and store as the maker says.

Earlier changes

23 Sept Updated the storm compensation cap: £2,000 was the figure set after Arwen, and it has risen with inflation to £2,235 from April 2026. Corrected “you generally have to claim”: most payments are automatic, and you claim if yours doesn’t arrive.

Preparing for winter storms & power cuts

How storm warnings actually work

Storms affecting Britain and Ireland are named jointly by the Met Office, Met Éireann and the Dutch weather service KNMI, on a list running each September to the following August. A storm gets a name when it could cause amber- or red-warning-level disruption — so a named storm is, by definition, one worth taking seriously.

The warning colours are an impact scale, not a drama scale. Yellow: some disruption possible — stay aware. Amber: be prepared — likely travel disruption, possible power cuts, potential risk to life; be ready to change plans. Red: take action — dangerous weather, widespread damage expected, and the standard advice is not to travel. Most winters bring several ambers; reds are rare and mean it. A polar-vortex headline is not a warning: our polar vortex page explains why, for Britain, a strong vortex tends to mean mild, wet and sometimes stormy weather rather than a freeze, and logs each headline against what happened.

What recent storms actually did

Storm Arwen (November 2021) is the modern benchmark for households: nearly a million homes lost power, around 40,000 were still off after three days and almost 4,000 for over a week, mainly across northern England and north-east Scotland. Ofgem's review led to nearly £30 million in compensation from the worst-hit network operators, and the severe-weather compensation cap was raised from £700 to £2,000.

Storm Éowyn (January 2025) was the strongest windstorm in over a decade — a 100mph gust in South Lanarkshire, fifteen stations setting January records, more than 280,000 properties without power in Northern Ireland and some three-quarters of a million in the Republic, some for well over a week. The lesson from both is the same: the wind passes in hours; the power cuts are what households actually live through, sometimes for days.

When an amber warning is issued: the outdoor hour

The Met Office's pre-storm advice is mostly one hour of unglamorous garden admin, done before the wind arrives: secure or bring in bins, garden furniture, trampolines, gazebos and ladders — every item on that list is a projectile at 70mph. Close and fasten windows and doors, especially on the side facing the wind, and park the car in a garage if you have one, or away from trees and fences if you don't.

Then charge everything — phones, power banks, the power station if you own one — fill a couple of flasks with hot water, and check you know where the torches are. If a red warning covers your area, plan not to travel through it; almost everything can wait the few hours a red warning lasts.

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Riding out the power cut

If the power goes: dial 105 — the free national line, run by the networks since 2016, that connects you to your local operator for updates and to report damage (Northern Ireland uses NIE Networks instead). Leave a light switched on so you notice restoration, keep the fridge and freezer shut, and layer up rather than reaching for anything that burns fuel indoors — the carbon monoxide rule has no storm exception.

Storm power cuts are why this site keeps banging the same drum: a torch per adult, a charged power bank, a wind-up radio, and — for households that can, or must for medical reasons — a battery power station that keeps the fridge, router and phones alive through the long tail of a restoration.

The full power cut guide →Power stations, compared →Torches for a power cut →Wind-up and battery radios →Power banks, compared →

After the storm: damage, claims and compensation

Stay clear of downed lines and report them on 105, and treat storm-damaged trees and structures as unstable until proven otherwise. Photograph property damage before temporary repairs, and notify your insurer promptly — storm damage is a standard peril on buildings policies. Who pays for a fallen tree, a fence or roof tiles, and how the Financial Ombudsman decides what counts as a storm, is in storm damage: who pays.

And know your power-cut rights: under Ofgem's guaranteed standards, network operators owe set compensation when storm outages run beyond defined thresholds. The cap was raised to £2,000 after Arwen and rises with inflation each April (£2,235 from April 2026). Most payments arrive automatically, but note when the power went off and came back, and if nothing has arrived four weeks after it came back, claim from the network operator (the 105 people), not your supplier. Work out what you're owed.

The honest bit

You don't need storm-specific kit — no storm shutters, no chainsaw, no generator. Every item that matters in a UK storm is the boring universal kit this site already recommends: torches, power bank, radio, warm layers, a few days of easy food and water. The only genuinely storm-specific preparation is free: the hour of garden-securing when the amber warning lands, and the decision, made in advance, not to drive through a red.

Home insurance

Check the cover before the cold does

Escape of water, the insurers' term for burst pipes and leaks, is one of the most common home-insurance claims in the UK, and storm damage is a standard peril on buildings policies. What catches people out is the small print: many policies limit or exclude escape-of-water damage when a home is left empty and unheated for more than a set number of days in winter, and some expect the heating left on or the water turned off. Know what yours expects of you before you go away.

Compare on Go.Compare Compare on MoneySuperMarket

ⓘ Comparison sites are free to use. If you go on to buy a policy through one of these links the comparison site may pay us a fixed fee, which never depends on which policy you choose and doesn't change what we write. We don't give financial advice, and we link to the comparison, never to a particular insurer. How this site makes money.

Common questions

What do yellow, amber and red weather warnings mean?

They combine impact with likelihood. Yellow: some disruption possible — stay aware. Amber: be prepared for travel disruption, power cuts and potential danger; be ready to change plans. Red: dangerous weather expected — take action, and the standard advice is not to travel while it's in force.

When does a storm get a name?

When the Met Office, Met Éireann or KNMI judge it could cause amber- or red-level impacts. Names run September to August, taken alphabetically (skipping Q, U, X, Y and Z) — so 'named storm' is itself the first warning.

Who do I call when a storm cuts the power?

105 — free from any phone, straight to your local electricity network operator for reports and restoration updates (Northern Ireland uses NIE Networks). Your supplier — the company you pay — can't fix the wires.

How long do storm power cuts last?

Most are restored within hours, but the big storms have long tails: after Arwen, tens of thousands of homes were off for three days and thousands for over a week. That tail is what the torch-radio-power-bank kit exists for.

Can I claim compensation for a storm power cut?

Usually, yes — Ofgem's guaranteed standards require network operators to pay set amounts once outages pass defined durations, with a cap of £2,235 for severe weather events from April 2026. Most payments are automatic; note your outage times and claim from the network operator if yours doesn't arrive.

What should I do in my garden before a storm?

Bring in or tie down bins, furniture, trampolines, gazebos and ladders; shut and fasten doors and windows on the windward side; move the car away from trees. It's an hour's work, and it's most of the Met Office's household advice.

Sources (4)

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