Storm Malik leaves 16,000 without power as second storm looms

Storm Malik tore across northern Britain on Saturday with winds that snapped trees like kindling and left entire neighborhoods in darkness. By Sunday, the damage was still being counted: roughly 80,000 customers had lost power at some point, and 16,000 remained without electricity a full day later. The worst of it was concentrated in Northumberland and County Durham, where fallen trees blocked roads and downed power lines scattered across the landscape. But there was no time to catch breath. Forecasters were already warning of a second storm bearing down—Storm Corrie, expected to arrive Sunday afternoon with gusts up to 90 miles per hour in exposed coastal areas of northern Scotland and 70 to 80 miles per hour across the north. The prospect of back-to-back weather events hammering infrastructure that was already compromised sent a chill through the power companies trying to restore service.

Two people died in the immediate aftermath of Malik's passage. A nine-year-old boy and a 60-year-old man were struck by a falling tree on Hollington Road near Tean in Staffordshire on Saturday afternoon around 1 p.m. The boy was pronounced dead; the man was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital. Earlier that same day, a 60-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Aberdeen. The deaths underscored what the Met Office was warning in its amber and yellow weather alerts: flying debris was likely, and it could lead to injuries or worse. Tiles could be torn from roofs. Trees could come down. The danger was not theoretical.

Northern Powergrid, which serves the northeast of England, had managed to restore power to more than 60,000 of the affected customers by Sunday, but the company's leadership was candid about what lay ahead. Paul Glendinning, the director, said that given the scale of the remaining work and the incoming Storm Corrie, it was likely some customers would still be without power beyond Sunday night. Andy Bilclough, the director of field operations, acknowledged the challenge but struck a determined note: the crews were large and working in what were, for the moment, safe conditions. They would push forward as long as they could before Corrie arrived.

In Scotland, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks reported that Storm Malik had caused significant damage across its service area. Around 18,000 customers were without power as of Sunday morning, with rural Aberdeenshire hit particularly hard. The company had restored 5,000 customers overnight and into Sunday morning, but the full picture was sobering. Richard Gough, of SSEN, warned that the combination of both storms meant some customers—especially those in remote areas—might not see their power restored until early the following week. He urged those still without electricity to make alternative arrangements if possible. The double blow of two storms in quick succession was straining resources and timelines across the entire region.

Durham County Council was managing its own crisis on the ground. Teams were out clearing blocked roads, footpaths, and debris scattered by the wind. The council had declared a major incident to coordinate the response. Meanwhile, the Met Office continued to issue warnings: wintry showers were expected across northern Scotland on Monday, with ice forming on untreated surfaces and up to two centimeters of snow possible above 200 meters elevation. Storm Corrie would bring large and dangerous waves around the coasts and travel disruption in multiple places. The sequence of events—one destructive storm followed immediately by another, compounded by winter weather—meant that recovery would be measured in days, not hours. For thousands of people in the north, the weekend that began with Malik's arrival was far from over.