Strong winds cause power cuts and travel disruption as Storm Floris batters the UK
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BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Weather creates harvest challenge for farmers across Norfolk
Farmers in a county have been sharing their experiences of this year's harvest for BBC Farmwatch. Norfolk has had three heatwaves in 2025, which has affected yields of crops such as wheat and and dry weather in July has meant many farmers have been ahead of schedule in bringing the crops in, but some have been frustrated by frequent rain. Kit Papworth, a farmer from Norfolk and National Farmers' Union Sugar board chair, said: "Harvest is earlier but yields have been depressed, we just haven't got the crop that we normally would have." Mr Papworth grows cereals, potatoes and sugar beet on land between Norwich and said the very dry growing season means many farmers have been irrigating to make sure plants get enough water. "In a year where we have had three heat waves you can really see the difference between the crops that we have irrigated and those we have not. "It's an enormous difference up to two tonnes per hectare difference in yield." This equated to a 20% reduction in the amount of wheat and barley being harvested this year, he said. He added that his farm has new rain water harvesting systems and technology to monitor dry crops to ensure water was used efficiently. Unpredictable weather Hannah and Tom Martin farm 300 sheep and grow wheat in west Norfolk. It is their first harvest with their daughter Fenella who is seven months old. Mr Martin described the weather for harvest so far as "catchy"."The weather is very unpredictable. One minute its glorious sunshine the next minute we're getting rained off with a shower. Then before you know it we're out combining again in the evening," he said. Mr Martin added he can work up to 17 hours a day to make sure the harvest comes in on schedule. Mrs Martin said she was focused on keeping the livestock and her family looked after. "I'm just trying to keep Tom fed, the baby fed and everything else going on the farm," she added. The Martin's farm in Outwell is owned by Norfolk County Council and leased to them on a rolling 10-year contract. The Council Farm Estate covers 16,795 acres (6,796 hectares) which is split into 95 farms, many of which offer young farmers without land an opportunity to work in agriculture. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Fewer than 1,000 Scottish homes still without power after Storm Floris
Fewer than 1,000 homes affected by Storm Floris are still without power after crews spent Wednesday restoring supplies to thousands. By 9.30pm on Wednesday, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said there were around 950 homes, mainly in the Highlands, that were still without power as a result of the weather. Around 98.6% of customers (71,000) have been reconnected as hundreds of engineers worked into the evening in affected areas for as long as daylight allowed. SSEN said the teams will return to continue to repair the network on Thursday morning. The company added: 'SSEN thanks customers for their understanding and patience while we continue to repair the network and reconnect customers as safely and quickly as possible.' Justice and Home Affairs Minister Angela Constance said the storm had a particular impact on power and transport infrastructure across the country, resulting in a major mobilisation of utility companies, national agencies and local authorities. The Scottish Government said transport services are almost back to normal, and engineers are continuing to restore power to homes and businesses. Ms Constance thanked responders who assisted in reconnecting the public and businesses. She said: 'I want to thank everyone in the public, private and third sector for the role they played in responding to Storm Floris. 'It was a significant and unseasonal storm with the worst affected areas covering a wide geographical spread. 'Engineers have worked tirelessly over the past two days to return power to the remaining affected properties as soon as possible. ' Energy companies continue to provide support to customers, including ensuring provisions are in place for the most vulnerable.' Thousands of customers spent a second night without power after Storm Floris swept in on Monday. Tens of thousands were left without power after winds reached speeds of up to 90mph earlier in the week. An amber weather warning was in place for an area stretching from the central belt to northern Scotland for much of the day on Monday while the rest of the country was covered by a yellow weather warning. The storm also caused significant disruption to Scotland's rail network. Network Rail said teams had been working 'tirelessly' to repair damage to infrastructure such as overhead lines and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks. The storm also led to delays in exam results being delivered to pupils in some island communities on SQA results day on Tuesday.
The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
Most homes that lost power during Storm Floris reconnected
The Justice Secretary has said almost all homes that lost power in Scotland during Storm Floris have now been reconnected. Angela Constance said the storm had a particular impact on power and transport infrastructure across the country, resulting in a major mobilisation of utility companies, national agencies and local authorities in response. The Scottish Government said transport services are almost back to normal, and that engineers are continuing to restore power to homes and businesses, with the worst affected areas in Inverness, Dornoch, and the Moray Coast. The Scottish Government also said 98% of the 71,000 homes that lost power are now restored, with the remaining 1,600 set to be reconnected over Tuesday evening. Ms Constance thanked responders who assisted in reconnecting the public and businesses with electricity. She said: 'I want to thank everyone in the public, private and third sector for the role they played in responding to Storm Floris. 'It was a significant and unseasonal storm with the worst affected areas covering a wide geographical spread. 'Engineers have worked tirelessly over the past two days to return power to the remaining affected properties as soon as possible. ' Energy companies continue to provide support to customers, including ensuring provisions are in place for the most vulnerable.' It comes as thousands of customers spent a second night without power after Storm Floris swept in on Monday. Tens of thousands of people were left without power after high winds earlier in the week, which reached speeds of up to 90mph. The company said that hundreds of engineers have been out on the network since first light on Wednesday morning working to reconnect homes. It said that 95% of customers who lost supplies due to Storm Floris have been reconnected. Andy Smith, SSEN's director of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said late on Tuesday: 'Storm Floris has been unusually powerful, especially for a storm at this time of year. 'It's brought down many trees that have endured several previous storms, and it's caused some network damage.' He added: 'I'd like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience while we go about this massive task; we're doing our best to give people realistic, informed estimates of when we'll get their power back on. 'I'm also grateful to the teams from our contract partners and other network operators for supporting our effort.' An amber weather warning was in place for an area stretching from the central belt to northern Scotland for much of the day on Monday while the rest of the country was covered by a yellow weather warning. The storm also caused significant disruption to Scotland's rail network. Network Rail said teams have been working 'tirelessly' to repair damage to infrastructure such as overhead lines and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks. The storm also led to delays in exam results being delivered to pupils in some island communities on SQA results day on Tuesday.
