Sam Hancock
Live reporter

We're going to close this page now - thanks for staying with us as we tracked Storm Ciarán yesterday and looked at its aftermath today.

Here's a quick reminder of where things stand:

• The storm has now passed over the UK and is slowly making its way over the North Sea, however parts of Scotland and southern England will continue to see heavy rain today and tomorrow
• Clear-up operations have focused on southern England and the Channel Islands

• In Scotland, a yellow rain warning is in place until 17:00 GMT today, with one set to take effect in southern England from 05:00 tomorrow - dozens of flood warnings also remain in place across the UK
• Power has now been restored to thousands of properties in south-east England, but some train services have been delayed or cancelled as a result of power failures
• In Western Europe - specifically parts of Italy - the storm has led to at least 13 deaths, with several other people missing

To keep reading the latest Ciarán updates, head to our main news story here.

Thanks again for joining us on this page, which was written by Malu Cursino, Georgina Barnes, Tim Dodd and Katherine Bainbridge, and edited by Holly Wallis and me.

Chris Page
Ireland correspondent

Just before we go, let's get an update on the situation in Northern Ireland.

In the town of Downpatrick, flooding has slightly receded. A few business owners have been able to pull up their shutters.

However dozens of shops, cafes and offices on the main shopping street remain under several feet of water.

The clean-up hasn’t really started yet - because it still isn’t clear when engineers will be able to begin pumping.

I’ve been driving around the local area - avoiding the many road closures - and fields have turned into lakes.

The saturated ground and overspilling rivers mean there’s nowhere that can absorb floodwater if it were pumped away from the town centre.

The authorites say they will need to wait for water levels to reduce before the operation can begin.

We're bringing our live coverage of Storm Ciarán to an end soon, but before then we've heard from a few experts who've given their advice following the extreme weather we've seen in the UK and other parts of Europe.

Hannah Cloke, who specialises in hydrology at the University of Reading, says the storm is a reminder of the destruction and disruption that stormy weather in the UK causes.

Meanwhile Trevor Hoey, a professor of river science at Brunel University and director of the Centre for Flood Risk and Resilience, adds that the UK is "always going to get a lot of rain-bearing weather systems coming our way".

Both stress the need for adequate planning and collaboration across local and national governments to prevent the adverse impacts of heavy rainfall. They add:

Chris Stone
BBC Radio Jersey

Walking down Queen Street today, you could be forgiven for thinking that the greatest storm for 35 years had missed Jersey's capital St Helier entirely.

On this high street, shops are bustling, groups of children are enjoying another day off school and the sun glistens warmly off the big glass windows of department stores.

You have to look very closely to see the fragments of slate and small branches that have been left after the clear-up this morning.

But just a few streets away, on the outskirts of town, it's a different story. A huge tree leans drunkenly against a block of flats. Piles of branches are piled haphazardly on pavements and driveways. Mothers struggle with their children's pushchairs over pavements that are strewn with debris and slick with wet leaves.

People are gathering in knots to discuss what happened yesterday and tell their tales of lost tiles, broken windows and collapsed walls.

Strong wind is a regular feature of island life. But in 30 years of broadcasting, I've never had to use the words tornado or hurricane in a story about Jersey.

We've some more from weather experts now - this time at the Jersey Met, which has confirmed the island was yesterday hit by a tornado and hurricane-force winds.

It described the Channel Islands as having endured "supercell thunderstorms". Locals also faced hurricane-force winds, the service said, with one of its senior meteorologist's Matt Winter telling BBC Radio Jersey that eastern parts of the island were "briefly" affected by a tornado.

Wind speeds of 103mph (164km/h) were recorded on Jersey early on Thursday.

The BBC's Dan Johnson visited the scene at St Clement with a drone to survey the damage, which you can watch below.

When significant weather events like this occur, it can be hard to keep track of all the warnings in place, so here's a succinct list of what we know.

Yellow weather warnings:

• The Met Office - the UK's national weather service - has a yellow rain warning in place, linked to Storm Ciarán, in north-east Scotland until 5pm today
• Over the weekend, there's also a rain warning in place for southern England, which forecasts heavy rain that could cause travel disruption

The worst of Storm Ciaran appears to be behind those in the UK, as it slowly moves over the North Sea, but:

• The storm's high winds and heavy rainfall led to destroyed properties and heavy flooding, with clear-up operations in place across large parts of the country, particularly southern England

Flood warnings:

• Dozens remain in place because river levels are still high in the aftermath of Ciarán
• In England, the Environment Agency has 42 flood warnings and 185 flood alerts in place, which suggests floods are expected or possible respectively
• Two flood alerts are in place in Scotland, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, while Natural Resources Wales has issued one severe warning for flooding on the River Ritec at Tenby and Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure says Lough Neagh is expected to continue rising until tomorrow

All schools on Jersey have remained closed on Friday in the wake of Storm Ciarán, with islanders being urged to stay at home.

Schools in Guernsey and Alderney however opened as normal - except for the College of Further Education, which suffered significant water damage during the storm.

Guernsey locals are no longer being asked to stay indoors, but have been told to take extra precautions when travelling because of road conditions.

Pondhu Primary School in St Austell, Cornwall, was shut today due to extensive flooding, with the school saying it needed time to "dry and clean the building so the children can return safely".

Image source, PA Media

Some passengers are still being advised to avoid rail travel until Saturday, as disruption continues in the wake of Storm Ciarán.

Here's the latest travel advice we've heard:

• LNER, the main train operator on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, advised passengers not to travel until Saturday because of power supply failures at both ends of the route on Thursday
• Several other train operators in England have also warned of continuing disruption while debris is cleared from the tracks, and passengers are advised to check their route before setting off
• In Devon and Cornwall, trains are suspended on some lines due to flooding, and the Night Riviera between London Paddington and Penzance has been cancelled
• But there was some good news for early commuters across south-east England when Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink were among operators to advise "near-normal service" was expected today

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Away from the UK, heavy winds and rain have also impacted our European neighbours, with Storm Ciarán leading to at least 13 deaths in Western Europe.

Last night a cold front directly linked to the storm hit Tuscany and winds in central Italy reached 87mph (140km/h).

At least six people have been killed. In the town of Montemurlo, officials said 200mm (7.8in) of rain had fallen and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has declared a state of emergency for the worst-hit areas of the region.

There have also been red weather alerts in Slovenia and Croatia.

Earlier, winds of 207km/h (129 mph) were recorded on the north-west coast of France, as the storm also lashed Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal.

A five-year-old child was one of two people killed in Belgium by falling trees.

• Read more here

Let's return now to some of the stories we're hearing from residents who live in areas badly affected by Storm Ciarán.

Royston James, in Guernsey, had been working on building his greenhouse for the past year, finally finishing it in July.

He said during the storm, he heard “all sorts of things flying around” - unfortunately, including parts of his greenhouse.

“Oh gosh, what else can I say? I’m fine, we’re alive and there’s no structural damage to the house so that’s fine," he told BBC News.

He added that it looked “like an earthquake” had struck the building.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, welcome, as we report on recovery efforts across the UK following Storm Ciarán.

• The centre of the storm is slowly moving over the North Sea, but parts of Scotland and southern England will continue to see heavy rain on Friday and Saturday
• A yellow rain warning will be in place from 05:00 GMT to midnight on Saturday across all of southern England, including Cornwall, Kent and the Isle of Wight

• Schools remain closed on Jersey, where islanders have been urged to stay at home
• Almost 50 flood warnings are in place across England in the aftermath of the storm, along with more than 190 flood alerts

• There are six flood alerts in Scotland, while Wales has one severe warning for flooding on the River Ritec at Tenby
• In Northern Ireland, Lough Neagh is expected to continue rising until tomorrow, according to Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure, external
• Trains have been delayed and cancelled because of power failures, but power has been restored to thousands of properties across south-east England

• October has seen record-breaking rain for some areas, while September was also wetter than average

Almost all of those affected by storm-related power cuts have been reconnected, according to the Energy Networks Association (ENA).

Nearly 150,000 homes were left without power; but by midday on Friday some 146,000 had been reconnected, with around 600 properties still without power, a spokesperson told the BBC.

Earlier, the ENA said: "While difficult conditions remain, with violent winds forecast until the end of the day, teams from across the country are working together to continue to reconnect customers where it is safe to do so."

Walkers are being warned to avoid West Bay in Dorset after a large section of cliff collapsed onto the beach.

The coastline was battered by enormous waves on Thursday, and West Bay Photography - which filmed this video of the aftermath - said other sections of the cliff appeared to be unstable.

Bridport Town Council said: "A new day and a new rockfall.

"Locals know the drill but please warn any visitors about the unstable cliffs."

More than 18,000 homes in the Southampton and New Forest areas are without water or experiencing low pressure.

Storm Ciarán led to Southern Water supply works being shut down, and bottled water stations opened this morning.

Tim McMahon, managing director at Southern Water, said: "The River Test that feeds our key water supply works for the area has become really dirty because of the run-off from the ground into the river."

He said this had made it "really difficult to treat the water to the right quality", meaning not as much water could be supplied as usual.

The storm has brought large amounts of ghost gear, discarded netting and other fishing items ashore to a beach in south Cornwall.

Ghost gear, which was found on Polkerris beach, near St Austell, can entangle and kill wildlife at sea and on shore.

Andy Frost from environmental organisation Turn the Tide said it was "the worst I have ever seen it".

He said: "There are also millions of pieces of plastic on the beach.

"If there are locals available today, the beach is in chaos with litter so they could help out there."

Meanwhile, farmers in Jersey are trying to get their land, barns and buildings back in order after Storm Ciarán.

Peter Le Maistre says he thinks there are more trees down on farming land than there were in the Great Storm of 1987, external.

He says the animals are accounted for, but it will take a long time to get back to normal.

He says: “Our staff will be out as they were yesterday afternoon checking on all the animals again, [and] we’re going to try and clear up some more debris on the road.

“For the livestock side of it, it’s been a pretty difficult 24 hours… farms suffered structural damage.”

Helen Willets
BBC Weather

It's clear that flooding is an ongoing risk throughout the rest of today and into the weekend, with more rain forecast.

Autumn so far has been very wet, September was wetter than average but October has been record-breaking for some areas.

This chart illustrates how wet it has been widely, but notably for eastern Scotland, which saw exceptional rainfall from Storm Babet.

Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and the Isle of Wight have provisionally had their wettest October, along with counties Armagh and Down in Northern Ireland.

Image source, Reuters

As we've heard, Storm Ciarán has eased but more heavy rain and winds will continue to affect the UK this weekend. And the threat of flooding remains high.

As well as the more than 50 flood warnings in place across the south of England, a further 190 flood alerts - meaning flooding is possible - stretch up through the country.

Floods Minister Rebecca Pow warned of high river levels, large waves at the coast and saturated ground.

In England, you can check for flood warnings in your area on the Environment Agency website, external.

In Scotland, there are six flood alerts, with more information from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, external.

Natural Resources Wales, external is currently issuing one severe warning for flooding on the River Ritec at Tenby.

And you can find out more about the flood risks in Northern Ireland here, external after it has been dealing with flooding from one of its wettest months on record.

Brodie Owen
BBC South West

The Met Office has extended a yellow warning for rain to cover all of Devon and Cornwall.

It said heavy rain was predicted to fall on saturated ground for most of Saturday.

It warned: “Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible.

“Large waves may lead to dangerous conditions across some English Channel coastlines.”

You can check the latest weather warnings here., external

Guernsey experienced 70mph (112km/h) winds during Storm Ciarán - and the clear up there is well under way.

Students have returned to school in Guernsey and Alderney, but the Guernsey College and Further Education sites are closed due to significant water damage, the states say.

Flights are resuming from Guernsey and Alderney airports after they were closed on Thursday.

Roads are being cleared of trees - which saw more than 70 fallen during the storm.

Guernsey's chief minister deputy Peter Ferbrache has warned the island is "likely to suffer from further bad weather" in the coming days.

You can read more here.