Gale-force winds and floods struck several countries in northern Europe as the region endured more heavy rain on Friday that forecasters say will continue into the weekend. Three deaths in the UK were blamed on the bad weather.

The winds are expected to hit hardest in the eastern part of Denmark's Jutland peninsula and the Danish islands in the Baltic Sea. The northern part of the British Isles, southern Sweden and Norway, and northern Germany are also in the path of the storm, named Babet by the UK's weather forecaster, the Met Office.

Eastern Scotland continued to bear the brunt of the stormy weather. On Friday, the Met Office issued a new "red" warning, its highest, for parts of the region through Saturday.

"This is not usual autumn weather," said Andy Page, the Met's chief meteorologist. "This is an exceptional event, and we are likely to continue to see significant impacts with the potential for further flooding and damage to properties."

On Friday, police reported that a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in the central England county of Shropshire.

In Scotland, a 57-year-old woman died Thursday after being swept into a river in the region of Angus, where hundreds of homes were also evacuated. Also on Thursday, a 56-year-old man died after his van hit a falling tree in the same area.

Though forecasters said the worst of the heavy rain in Scotland had passed, they warned that conditions will remain difficult, with river levels still on the rise and flood defenses breached. Some parts of the town of Brechin are only accessible by boat after its flood defenses were overwhelmed by the heavy rainfall, raising concerns about further loss of life.

"I cannot stress how dangerous conditions are in Brechin in particular," said Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf.

The swirling weather system was also hitting other parts of Northern Europe, particularly Denmark. The Danish Meteorological Institute wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it expects water levels "to exceed the 100-year event in several places."

Police in southern Denmark – the Danish region expected to be the worst hit – said a number of sections of road in low-lying areas were flooded and some trees had fallen. 

Danish meteorologists issued their highest warning for "very dangerous weather" and said levels of some inland waters were expected to rise up to 240 centimeters (nearly eight feet) above normal.

In neighboring Sweden, meteorologists warned of the risk of extensive flooding which may cause limited access on roads and railways along the southern coasts of the Scandinavian country. Water levels were expected to begin dropping again on Saturday morning, Swedish meteorologists said.

In Germany, some streets and squares were flooded in the cities of Flensburg, Kiel and Wismar on the Baltic coast. 

On Germany's North Sea coast, the high winds had the opposite effect to the flooding on the Baltic coast, pushing the water further out and leading to very low water levels. Ferries to some North Sea islands were canceled.

(Cover image: A view of waves in Stonehaven, Scotland, on October 19, 2023, as the UK braces for heavy wind and rain from Storm Babet. /CFP)

(If you have specific expertise and want to contribute, or if you have a topic of interest that you'd like to share with us, please email us at nature@cgtn.com.)