LONDON (AP) — High winds knocked out power to thousands of people in southwest England on Friday morning as the first of two major storms expected to hit the U.K. this weekend swept in from the Atlantic.
The U.K. Met Office issued an amber warning — the second highest — for wind gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph) in Cornwall and Devon as the storm named Austen by the agency moved into the area early Friday.
According to the National Grid, which distributes electricity around the U.K., more than 16,000 homes were without power in the southwest by late morning.
Winds up to 60 mph (100 kph) are forecast across southern and central England throughout the day as the storm moves eastward along the English Channel coast.
With heavy rain forecast in some areas and the likelihood that high winds will topple trees that are still in full leaf, the Met Office warned of further power outages and travel disruptions.
Weather forecasters on Jersey issued a red warning — the highest — for shipping around the Channel Islands, with wind gusts of up to 80 mph expected in the area.
A second major storm — Boelo — is expected to bring more wind and heavy rains to northern parts of the U.K. later in the weekend.
The Met Office updated its warning for Boelo from yellow to amber for Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England on Saturday night and throughout Sunday.
With winds gusting up to 65 mph (105 kph), forecasters are warning of further power cuts, transportation delays and the risk of building damage and flying debris.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham warned of the potential of more weather events that could lead to flooding this winter as he attended a summit organized to learn from the summer’s record wildfires.
“We potentially are facing a winter of greater flooding, so it’s about recognizing all of those risks and taking action," he said.
His comments come a day after the government launched a campaign urging Britons to prepare for an array of events, connected to such things as climate change, technological disruptions and actions by a hostile state. One of the key recommendations of the “Be Ready” campaign is that people stockpile supplies of food and essentials in case of multi-day emergencies.
The Met Office began naming major storms in 2015 as a way to keep the public informed about severe weather. Storms are named in alphabetical order throughout the season, which runs from September to the following August.
Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during the inaugural Wildfires '27 Resilience Summit on strengthening community preparedness, at the National Resilience Centre of Excellence, in Aintree, England, Friday Oct. 23, 2026. (Temilade Adelaja/Pool Photo via AP)
A banner advising against swimming on the beach at Black Rock in Brighton, England, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
Waves crash on to the beach at Black Rock in Brighton, England, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
PARIS (AP) — The Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed on Saturday over concerns about potential violence during planned protests, France’s culture ministry said.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the ministry said the Orsay and Picasso museums were also among those that will close.
Protests last Saturday devolved into mayhem, with rioters setting fires, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police. The ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks,” according to the statement.
Others are taking the same tack. After two days when admission was invite-only, Art Basel Paris opened to the public on Friday — but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers on Thursday to cancel the weekend program.
Paris’ Grand Palais is hosting 211 international galleries and their exhibitions for Art Basel, considered one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs.
“It’s kind of like the art Olympics,” New York-based artist Drake Carr, who is showing his work with Mariposa Gallery, said in an interview.
However, timing proved unfortunate, with the French capital gripped by social tension. The clashes and widespread looting over the weekend marked France’s most violent unrest in years.
A protest on Thursday afternoon in Paris was peaceful, and Art Basel's organizers announced the decision to close for the weekend around the same time. The protest planned for Saturday is expected to be much larger.
"This decision has not been taken lightly, and the safety of everyone involved in the fair remains our utmost priority," organizers said in a statement. Its website posted a similar announcement and said weekend ticketholders would be contacted.
Saloni Doshi, an art collector who travelled to Paris from India for the fair, grew worried last Saturday as she saw the fires and panicked people, and she received phone calls from friends asking whether Paris was safe. She agreed with the organizers' rationale to close.
“It's hard that something like this has to happen, but state activities and people's freedom have to continue,” she told the AP. “I cannot imagine that a bunch of elite, privileged people getting inconvenienced because of this should have a voice.”
Antoine Donzeaud and Elisa Rigoulet, the owners of the gallery exo exo, felt the same.
“We understand this decision, which we consider reasonable and consistent with the urgency of the social demands currently unfolding in France,” they said in a text message.
Associated Press writers David Biller and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
People enter the Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)
People walk past the Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)
Paris' Grand Palais hosting Art Basel art fair is pictured Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 after planned anti-government protests prompted organizers to cancel their weekend program. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)
Workers block the entrance of the Louvre museum during a protests against rising living costs, in Paris, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Workers block the entrance of the Louvre museum during a protests against rising living costs, in Paris, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
