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Storm Éowyn

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Storm Éowyn
Meteorological history
Formed21 January 2025
Dissipated27 January 2025
Extratropical cyclone
Highest winds183 km/h (114 mph) in Galway, Ireland
Lowest pressure939 hPa (mbar); 27.73 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities2[1]
Injuries5+
Areas affectedIreland and the United Kingdom
Power outages1,000,000 in Ireland
106,000 in Scotland[2]
Part of the 2024–25 European windstorm season

Storm Éowyn was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone which hit Ireland and the United Kingdom on 24 January 2025. The fifth storm of the 2024–25 European windstorm season, Éowyn was named by the UK Met Office on 21 January 2025.[3]

Widespread red weather warnings were issued across Ireland and Scotland, whilst amber and yellow warnings were issued around Wales and England ahead of the rapidly strengthening storm. It was the most powerful and severe to hit Ireland since Hurricane Debbie in 1961,[4] with wind records breaking an 80-year-old record for the country.[5][6]

Storm name

[edit]

On 21 January 2025, the British Met Office and associated organisations in Europe used the name "Éowyn" for the fifth storm of the 2024–2025 season. Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings and the name was taken from a list based on suggestions by the public.[7][8][9]

Background

[edit]
See also: January 20–22, 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard

The storm was fuelled by a strong jet stream and energy from the January 20–22, 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard, which brought significant snow to the Gulf Coast of the United States.[10][11]

Warnings and preparations

[edit]

Ireland

[edit]

On 22 January 2025, the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann issued an orange wind warning for 26 counties of Ireland for the period 02:00 to 17:00 UTC on 24 January 2025[12] and a red wind warning for counties Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick covering the period 03:00 to 10:00 UTC on 24 January 2025 in anticipation of the storm's arrival. Met Éireann predicted 130 km/h (81 mph) gusts widely, with even higher gusts for a time. On 23 January 2025, Met Éireann and the UK Met Office issued updated red weather warnings for 24 January 2025 covering all counties of the island of Ireland. Impacts included fallen trees, damage to power lines and power outages, structural damage as well as disruption and cancellations to transport with wave overtopping for coastal areas, especially in the west.[12]

All schools, preschools, colleges and universities were ordered to close for the entire day. Non-essential services ceased and many supermarkets either closed for the whole day or opened after the red alert was lifted in the area.

The Hurricane Hunter aircraft of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were deployed to Shannon Airport on 22 January, in order to conduct operations studying Storm Éowyn as it approached landfall. It was the first time the Hurricane Hunter aircraft had been deployed to Europe since Hurricane Ophelia in 2017.[13]

Isle of Man

[edit]

A red warning was issued for the Isle of Man, the first one issued by the Ronaldsway Met Office in seven years; the last one was issued for wind during Storm Eleanor in 2018.[14]

United Kingdom

[edit]

According to the Met Office, Storm Éowyn will bring strong winds to much of the UK, with gusts of up to 75 mph (121 km/h) inland and 80 mph (130 km/h) in coastal areas, particularly in Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales, and southern central Scotland. Heavy rainfall is also expected across the country, potentially leading to disruptions. While some initial snow is possible in northern areas, it is likely to transition to rain as milder air moves in.[15] As of 16:30 GMT, three yellow wind warnings were in force: one for Scotland and Shetland, another for more central parts of England, northern England and Northern Ireland. There was also another for the south-west of England, the entire south coast and through the north-west Midlands.

Yellow weather warnings for "very strong winds" have been issued across the UK for a 24-hour period on 24 January 2025, covering the East Midlands, West Midlands, London and southeast England, northwest England, southwest England, Wales, Yorkshire, and Humber. On 22 January 2025, the Met Office issued an amber wind warning covering north Wales, north midlands, northern England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland. Winds in the amber warning area were expected to reach 60–70 mph (97–113 km/h) inland, 70–80 mph (110–130 km/h) in some areas, and potentially over 90 mph (140 km/h) in exposed coastal and hilly regions. Winds would briefly decrease as the storm's centre passes, primarily affecting Northern Ireland and western Scotland, before intensifying again. A rare red warning for extreme and damaging winds was issued for Northern Ireland and Southern Central Scotland.[16] Winds in the red warning zone were expected to reach 75–80 mph (121–129 km/h) inland (higher winds for Glasgow around 80–85 mph or 129–137 km/h) and 85–95 mph (137–153 km/h), possibly 100 mph (160 km/h) on coasts. Winds would gradually ease later on 24 January 2025, although some strong winds could still affect Scotland.[17] Also, a new yellow wind warning was issued for East Anglia, the East Midlands, the south-east and the London area. An additional amber weather warning was added at 13:00 GMT on 24 January until 06:00 GMT on 25 January, covering most of Scotland. Within the warning area, gusts of 40–50 mph (64–80 km/h) were likely for a time, perhaps higher on exposed coasts and hills, before easing through the afternoon.[18]

On 23 January 2025, a severe emergency alert was sent to mobile devices across Northern Ireland at 17:25 UTC and in parts of Scotland at 17:53 UTC. The alert was broadcast to around 4.5 million devices making it the largest scale use of the UK's emergency alert system since its introduction in April 2023.[19][20]

Additional areas likely to be affected include Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Northern Ireland, Orkney and Shetland, southwest Scotland, Lothian Borders, and Strathclyde. A further yellow wind warning has been issued for parts of northern England and Scotland on Saturday. A yellow snow warning was issued for central and northern Scotland where outbreaks of rain spreading north-eastward on the morning of 24 January will fall as snow initially, especially on hills, before reverting to rain and eventually easing. Any accumulations across northern England and southern Scotland will be fairly short-lived and largely on hills, where 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) may accumulate in places above 100 m (330 ft) elevation and 5–10 cm above 300 m (980 ft). Snow will probably persist for longer north of the Central Belt, where as much as 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) is possible above 300 m (980 ft). Given the strong winds that will accompany the snow, temporary blizzard conditions are possible over higher ground, with some drifting also possible for a time, this probably more likely north of the Central Belt of Scotland.[21]

Scotland

[edit]
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, activated the Scottish Government Resilience Room on 23 January

Ahead of the storm, Transport Scotland indicated severe disruption to the travel network, with Police Scotland advising the public not to travel in the areas covered by the Red alert issued by the Met Office. The Transport Scotland Resilience Room and the Multi-Agency Response Team was activated ahead of the storm impacting Scotland to monitor the situation and condition of the transport network across the country, with Transport Scotland providing regular updates to the public.[22]

On the morning of 23 January 2025, one day before the storm was expected to make landfall in Scotland, the Scottish Government activated the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) to monitor the rapidly developing situation and threat, and also to begin to co-ordinate the Scottish Government response to the storm. First Minister, John Swinney, issued a public statement, highlighting that the "Met Office has, this morning, issued a very rare red weather warning for Storm Éowyn tomorrow. Their advice is clear that potential impacts include danger to life, structural damage to property, and transport and power disruptions". Sturgeon assured the public that the Scottish Government was ready to respond to the storm and associated damage, announcing that the resilience room had been activated to "co-ordinate help and to support Scotland's front-line responders, including police fire services and the ambulance service". Chief Superintendent, Hilary Sloan, Head of Police Scotland Road Policing said also issued a public statement, stating "the advice of the police throughout the duration of the red weather warning is not to travel, as the conditions outside and on the road network could be extremely hazardous and put you at risk".[23]

Norway

[edit]

A yellow warning was issued for Western Norway on 23 January.[24]

Impact

[edit]

Ireland

[edit]

On 24 January at around 05:00, a wind gust provisionally measured at 183 km/h (114 mph) was recorded at Mace Head in Connemara in County Galway. The official highest wind gust from the storm in the Republic of Ireland was 183 km/h (114 mph),[25] surpassing an 80-year-old record for the country when a wind gust of 182 km/h (113 mph) at Foynes was measured in 1945.[26] Moneypoint weather station measured a 159.8 km/h (99.3 mph) wind gust at 04:10. The intensity of winds at Ceann Mhása, Belmullet, and Markree caused data interruption to local weather instruments.[27] A mean sustained wind speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) was measured at Mace Head at around 04:00, surpassing the previous Irish record of 131 km/h (81 mph) set in 1945 at Foynes.[28]

A maximum wave height of 10.4 m (34 ft) was measured by the coast of Finnis Bouy, near Doolin.[27]

All flights from 08:00 to 14:00 at Ireland West Airport were cancelled. Several flights at Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport were cancelled or delayed. Aer Arann and Aran Island Ferries announced the closure of all morning services.[27]

At 09:00, 815,000 houses, farms and businesses on the island of Ireland were suffering from power outages, particularly in counties Galway and Mayo and 115,000 homes, mainly in Munster, were without water.[29] By lunchtime, nearly one million were without power on the island of Ireland.[30] The country's worst storm since Hurricane Debbie in 1961 resulted in 768,000 without power at its peak in the Republic of Ireland.[31] The Electricity Supply Board spoke of extensive damage to electricity infrastructure on an unprecedented scale.[32] As of 25 January, 217,000 households were without water as Uisce Éireann's water treatment plants were impacted by power cuts.[33] Customers in Galway were worst-impacted.[34]

Several instances of downed trees in both counties and in Munster were also reported. Several families in Munster required evacuation after their houses or caravans were destroyed or severely damaged by strong winds, with many cases involving roofs being blown off. At least six to seven downed trees were reported on the N4 road near Newtown Forbes, County Longford, blocking the village off from both ends. Most roads in Longford had trees fall on them.[27] The Connacht GAA Air Dome in County Mayo, which cost €3.1 million to construct, was destroyed.[35] A 20-year-old man in County Donegal died, when a tree fell on his car.[36][37]

Scotland

[edit]
An Emergency Alert System issued across the central belt of Scotland by the Scottish Government, 23 January 2025

Storm Éowyn made impact in Scotland on 24 January 2025, leaving around 117,000 homes across the country without power and electricity supply, with wind speeds as high as 102mph recorded on the Tay Road Bridge. Swinney appealed to the public to have a "high level of vigilance", and expressed concerns about the number of HGVs on Scottish roads, claiming that "too many lorries are on the road and I urge all HGVs to follow Police Scotland advice not to travel during the red weather warning".[38] All ScotRail train services were suspended and did not return to service until midday the following day.[38] The Scottish Government Resilience Room met again on the evening of 24 January to co-ordinate the Scottish Government's response to the storm. Swinney praised the public for following advice from Police Scotland not to travel, attributing to "areas covered by the red warning has seen road usage been about 85% less than normal, and that is thanks to so many people heeding the advice not to travel".[39] Glasgow Airport [40] and Edinburgh Airport [41] limited Flight Operations from 10:00 GMT to 17:00 GMT, causing cancellations of flights. At around 14:15 (GMT; UTC 0), Drumalbin weather station in South Lanarkshire recorded 101 mph (163 km/h), the highest wind gust in Scotland from Storm Éowyn so far.[42][needs update]

Two people suffered injuries from storm related accidents in Scotland,[1] one of whom – a 19 year-old from East Ayrshire – subsequently died.[43][44] An SPFL game between Celtic and Dundee was postponed on 25 January due to damages to Celtic Park due to the storm.[45]

Following the passing of the storm, the Scottish Government Resilience Room was activated once again on 25 January by first minister John Swinney to co-ordinate the recovery efforts in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. Swinney also joined a meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms which was chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden. Swinney advised the public that "partners are working at pace to ensure services can resume next week. Local authorities – who are responsible for school closures - will be working to ensure all buildings meet the required safety standards to reopen safely to pupils". Swinney also advised that the public "should prepare for continued disruption, especially in areas that have been impacted by a loss of power, and I encourage everyone to follow advice being issued by local authorities, as well as continuing to follow updates from national agencies".[46]

Swinney issued a public statement on 25 January calling for "patience" as the cleanup operation began. Amber warnings for ice, snow and wind remained in place in most parts of Scotland over the weekend (24–26 January).[47] Swinney stated that it was "clear the severity of Storm Éowyn will continue into next week and this will have an impact on the speed at which utilities and local services can fully resume".[46] By the evening of 26 January, the Scottish Government stated that "significant progress" had been made regarding the recovery efforts across the country, but some impacts from the storm were "set to continue". Approximately 265,000 people had their electricity restored by the evening of the 26 January, with road, ferry and aviation networks returning to "a near normal service". As of 20:00GMT on 26 January, roughly 16,000 people across Scotland were still without power.[48]

Isle of Man

[edit]

All travel to and from the Isle of Man was suspended, including ferries between Douglas and Heysham operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, as well as Bus Vannin services. Closures include the Isle of Man Airport, the Snaefell mountain road, and schools and government offices. Around 370 homes lost power. The Isle of Man Government declared a major incident part way through the red alert as main roads where blocked cutting off many parts of the island.

The island's airport recorded the highest wind gusts in 20 years.[49]

England

[edit]

On 23 January, Devon and Cornwall Police said that one person was injured at Holywell Bay, near Newquay, where there had been "caravans blowing".[50] This event was later confirmed by the ESWD as an IF2 Tornado.[51]

There were also thousands of homes without power in County Durham and a number of road closures, including on the A19 and A689.[52]

Northern Ireland

[edit]

As of 11:30 GMT on 24 January, over 240,000 homes and business were without power in Northern Ireland.[53]

Wales

[edit]

Places affected were Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital in Bangor and the communities of Bethesda, Tregarth, Llanbedr, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Menai Bridge on Anglesey.[54]There were widespread power cuts across Wales.[55]

Norway

[edit]

The remnants of the storm hit Norway on 24 and 25 January, causing power outages.[56]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Drivers injured and power cuts as Storm Éowyn hits Scotland". BBC News. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Response to Storm Éowyn". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Storm Éowyn named as strong winds, heavy rain and snow forecast". Met Office. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  4. ^ Nolan, Darragh (24 January 2025). "Storm Éowyn: Five key moments from a day of record-breaking wind speeds and widespread destruction". Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  5. ^ Lee, George (24 January 2025). "'Weather bomb' smashed Irish wind records unbroken for 80 years". RTÉ News. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Storm Éowyn: One of most severe storms to hit Ireland will bring 'dangerous' and 'destructive' weather". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  7. ^ "UK Storm Centre: Storm Names for 2024 – 2025". Met Office. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  8. ^ Best, Barra (22 January 2025). "'Threat to life' as red warnings issued in Republic of Ireland". BBC News.
  9. ^ Clarke, Sophie (23 January 2025). "The meaning behind the name Éowyn and its Lord of the Rings connection as rare red warning storm set to batter Ireland". The Irish News. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  10. ^ Pylas, Pan (23 January 2025). "Hurricane-force winds anticipated in Ireland and UK as Storm Éowyn spirals in from Atlantic". The AP. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  11. ^ Wulfeck, Andrew (23 January 2025). "Remnants of Gulf Coast snowstorm impacting Europe as powerful bomb cyclone". Fox Weather. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Warnings & Advisories". Met Éireann. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  13. ^ Beirne, Lauren (22 January 2025). "'Hurricane Hunters' fly into Shannon Airport to track Storm Éowyn". Live95. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  14. ^ Campbell, James (24 January 2025). "Storm Eowyn: Met Office explains reasons behind first red weather warning in seven years". Isle of Man Today. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Weather and climate change". Met Office. 24 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Red weather warnings issued with damaging winds forecast for Storm Éowyn". Met Office.
  17. ^ "UK weather warnings". Met Office. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  18. ^ "UK weather warnings". Met Office. 24 January 2025.
  19. ^ Brown, Mark; Brooks, Libby; O'Carroll, Lisa (23 January 2025). "Storm Éowyn: 4.5m people receive siren phone alert in Scotland and Northern Ireland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  20. ^ "Emergency alert". GOV.UK. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  21. ^ "UK weather warnings". Met Office. 24 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Storm Eowyn: Red Wind Warning | Traffic Scotland". www.traffic.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  23. ^ "Severe weather expected across Scotland". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  24. ^ Kleiven, Dina Gjertine Svendal (23 January 2025). "Storm «Éowyn» treffer Vestlandet". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Mace Head in Carna has broken the all-time gust of wind record". Galway Bay FM. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  26. ^ "Electricity, water and broadband outages across country". 24 January 2025 – via RTÉ.
  27. ^ a b c d "Storm Éowyn: More than 560,000 without power - ESB". RTÉ. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  28. ^ "Ireland weather updates: 560,000 without power and record wind speeds as Storm Éowyn hits". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  29. ^ "Storm Éowyn latest: Luas resumes operations; Donegal only county remaining under weather warning". Business Post.
  30. ^ Black, Rebecca; Sherlock, Cillian; McCurry, Cate (24 January 2025). "Nearly one million homes and businesses without power across Ireland". Sunday World. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  31. ^ "Storm Éowyn: Man dies after tree falls on car as homes in worst-affected areas face 'more than a week' without power". Irish Independent. 24 January 2025.
  32. ^ "Storm Éowyn update: ESB Networks teams mobilising to restore electricity supply to 725,000 homes, farms and businesses without power". ESB Group. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025. There has been unprecedented, widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure with power outages nationwide
  33. ^ "Number of people without water after Storm Éowyn climbs to 217,000, with 300,000 more at risk". The Journal. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  34. ^ "Storm Éowyn: 540,000 premises still without electricity and 138,000 people without water". The Journal. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  35. ^ "Connacht GAA Air Dome destroyed during Storm Éowyn". 24 January 2025 – via www.rte.ie.
  36. ^ "Man, 20, killed during Storm Éowyn named as Donegal road remains closed". RTÉ News. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  37. ^ "Man dies in Donegal after tree falls on his car during Storm Éowyn". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  38. ^ a b "'Once in a generation' Storm Éowyn leaves 117,000 Scottish homes without power". BBC News. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  39. ^ "Response to Storm Éowyn". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  40. ^ "Arrivals and Departures Flight Info | Glasgow Airport". Glasgow Airport.
  41. ^ "Storm Éowyn - information for passengers as weather warning issued | Edinburgh Airport". Edinburgh Airport.
  42. ^ "Storm Éowyn wind speeds top 100mph as 100,000 homes in Scotland lose power". BBC News. 24 January 2025.
  43. ^ Brown, Mark; O'Carroll, Lisa (26 January 2025). "Two men killed by falling trees during Storm Éowyn". The Guardian.
  44. ^ "Teenager dies after car hit by falling tree". BBC News. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  45. ^ "Celtic v Dundee game is called off". Celtic F.C. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  46. ^ a b "Recovering from Storm Éowyn". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  47. ^ "John Swinney calls for 'patience' during Storm Eowyn clear up works". The National. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  48. ^ "Storm recovery operation continues". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  49. ^ Brahde, Rebecca (24 January 2025). "People urged to stay home during red warning". BBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  50. ^ "Storm Éowyn: Schools to close and people warned 'do not travel' as rare red alert issued". ITV News. 23 January 2025.
  51. ^ "European Severe Weather Database". ESWD. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  52. ^ Goldsborough, Patrick (24 January 2025). "Storm Eowyn: High winds cause chaos in the North East". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  53. ^ "Storm Éowyn live: Man dies as Storm Éowyn batters UK and Ireland leaving one million without power". BBC News.
  54. ^ "Wales schools closed as Storm Éowyn brings widespread power cuts". BBC News. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  55. ^ "Widespread disruption as Storm Éowyn hits Wales". BBC News. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  56. ^ Enoksen, Karoline Marie; Øvrebø, Emma Fondenes; Solheim, Eric Kjerstad (24 January 2025). "Stormen på Sørvestlandet: Innstiller flyavganger". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
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