The UK on Monday morning was assessing the damage caused by winter storm Ciara — also called Sabine — which blew through late Sunday and overnight, as Germany and other parts of Europe await a similar fate.

There were reports of deaths directly connected to the storm across Europe. Three drivers — one in the southwest of the Czech Republic, one in northern Slovenia, and another in southern England — were killed after their cars were hit by falling trees.

In southern Poland, a woman and her daughter were killed after the storm ripped the roof off a ski rental equipment building in the mountain resort of Bukowina Tatrzanska, striking people standing near a ski lift, according to local police. Two others were left injured.

In southern Sweden, one man drowned after his sail boat capsized in the lake of Fegen. He was washed ashore and later died. Another person who was in the boat is still missing, according to the Swedish daily Aftonbladet.

Hurricane-force winds and heavy rains grounded flights, canceled trains and shut down operations at major ports across western Europe from Sunday. The UK's Meteorological Office issued more than 250 flood warnings, and at least 10 British rail companies issued "do not travel" warnings. Other British rail lines told passengers to expect delays.

The UK was battered by Ciara/Sabine

Storm surges in coastal cities pounded beaches and docks. The English port of Dover and France's port of Calais on either side of the English Channel shut down ferry operations for several hours amid choppy conditions. The Poole offices of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in southwest England shared astonishing footage of one of their boats almost capsizing during a rescue mission.

The strong winds also enabled a British Airways plane to make the fastest New York-to-London flight by a conventional airliner, completing the 3,500-mile (5,630-kilometer) journey in just under five hours, 102 minutes ahead of schedule. A total of three commercial flights were able to easily beat the previously held subsonic record of 5 hours and 13 minutes.

Germany

Though weather observers said the UK had seen the worst of the storm by Sunday evening, other parts of Europe on Monday were still bracing for it to strike or intensify.

Across Europe, cars were hit by falling trees

The storm was largely over in northern Germany as of Monday morning, but weather authorities said it was still coming for the south.

Gusts measuring over 170 kilometers (106 miles) per hour were reported in the Black Forest in southern Germany Monday morning. Weather officials said the storm would carry on for several hours, with the heaviest rains and strongest winds expected in the south.

Utility companies in northern Bavaria struggled to restore power to about 50,000 homes early Monday.

Hundreds of flights were canceled, and all long-distance train travel was put on hold until appropriate weather conditions could be confirmed. German railway company Deutsche Bahn said Monday it was beginning to resume long-distance rail services in northern Germany but warned commuters of expected further disruptions.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Storm chaos in southern Germany Authorities issued widespread weather warnings in the south German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, which were expected to experience some of the worst of the bad weather. In Bavaria, around 60,000 homes were without electricity after the storm caused a power cut.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Storm disrupts Monday's commute Long-distance and regional train services were suspended overnight across Germany, and commuters faced disruption as they tried to take trains to work on Monday morning with some services still canceled or delayed, with trains traveling at slower speeds due to high winds.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Meter-high spray in Schleswig-Holstein In Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein there was meter-high spray from the North Sea at the ferry port of Dagebüll. In St. Peter-Ording, also on the North Sea coast, some parents took their children out to play in the wind, along with some brave kitesurfers.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Storm aids record-breaking flights Many flights were cancelled but the ferocious gusts also aided flights. Propelled by wind from the storm, a British Airways plane was thought to have made the fastest New York-to-London flight made by a conventional airliner, completing the 3,500 mile journey in just four hours and 56 minutes.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Injuries reported Winds have knocked over trees and other heavy objects, causing damage to vehicles and disrupting traffic. Several injuries were reported, including one woman in critical condition in Germany after a tree fell on her vehicle.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Battering winds Storm Sabine, or Ciara as it's called outside of Germany, brought down trees and powerlines as it lashed parts of northern Europe. More than 30,000 homes in Britain, and some 10,000 in Ireland, were without electricity.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Flood warnings Heavy rain pounded much of the UK, prompting the Met Office to issue 190 emergency flood warnings. Waters rose rapidly in Mytholmroyd (pictured) in England's north, after the River Calder burst its banks.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Massive gusts The howling winds also caused traffic chaos, with scores of flights and train services canceled across the continent. The UK Met Office said the highest wind speed recorded was 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour at the northern Welsh village of Aberdaron.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Sabine on mainland Europe The storm also battered the city of Wimeureux and other parts of northern France, where parks, cemeteries and outdoor markets were closed. The bad weather affected Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany, before moving east to Czechia.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Storm surge Sabine arrived on Germany's northwest on Sunday morning, hitting the coastal towns of Emden and Kiel, and the North Sea island, Sylt. Ferry services in the region were canceled, while the ports of Dover in England and Calais in France were shut down completely because of the dangerous swell.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Passengers stranded Düsseldorf and Frankfurt airports in western Germany canceled scores of flights on Sunday as Sabine began moving south towards the state of Bavaria. Flights were also affected in the cities of Hamburg, Berlin, Hannover, Dortmund, Cologne and Stuttgart. Similar disruptions were reported at London's Heathrow Airport, Brussels Airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Atop the Brocken Wind speeds on northern Germany's highest peak, the Brocken, reached 156 km/h on Sunday evening, according to the German weather service. Forecasts warned there could be gusts as strong as 180 km/h there overnight.

Photos: Storm Sabine wreaks havoc across northern Europe Sports events, school canceled Authorities warned millions of people in the affected countries to stay indoors. Dozens of events were called off as a result of the weather, including the Premier League football match between Manchester City and West Ham, and a German soccer league game between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Cologne. All schools were closed on Monday in Luxembourg and the western German city of Cologne.



Multiple injuries due to downed trees have been reported since Sunday. Two women in in the city of Saarbrücken in western Germany were in the hospital after a tree fell on their car. One remains in critical condition. A 16-year-old in North Rhine-Westphalia also sustained head injuries from a falling tree.

Overnight winds in Frankfurt blew a crane into the roof of the city's cathedral, where it became stuck.

The storm led to a number of school closures across the country.

Germany issued its second-highest storm warning level for the entire southern half of the country. In parts of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the highest-level warning, No. 4, has been issued.

kp,mvb/msh (AP, dpa, epd)

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