LONDON—Storm Ciara battered the U.K. and northern Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains Sunday, halting flights and trains and producing heaving seas that closed down ports. Soccer games, farmers’ markets, and cultural events were canceled as authorities urged millions of people to stay indoors, away from falling tree branches.
Named by the U.K. Met Office weather agency, the storm brought massive gusts that hit 93 mph (150 mph) at the northern Welsh village of Aberdaron and 86 mph (138 kph) at the Welsh town of Capel Curig. A British Airways plane is thought to have made the fastest ever flight by a conventional airliner from New York to London.
