Ireland recorded its strongest-ever wind gusts on Friday as “destructive” Storm Eowyn barrelled in from the Atlantic, cutting power, grounding flights and shutting schools, officials said.
Ireland and Scotland were put on high alert ahead of Eowyn making landfall, with schools ordered to close and trains and flights cancelled as forecasters warned the storm could wreak havoc and destruction.
Tens of thousands of homes lost power on Friday, as gusts of 183 kilometres (114 miles) per hour were recorded early in the morning near the Galway coast in the west, the island’s Met Eireann said on X.
The previous record, of 182 kilometres per hour, was recorded in 1945, it said.
Northern Ireland‘s First Minister Michelle O’Neill warned there was a “genuine threat to life and property”, describing the region as currently being “in the eye of the storm”.
The top-level red warning for wind covering Northern Ireland came into force at 7am (0700 GMT).
Dublin Airport announced that more than 110 scheduled departures and 110 arrivals have been cancelled by airlines for Friday.
As the storm progressed north to Northern Ireland hundreds of flights were also cancelled across the two nations of the United Kingdom.
Airports hit included Belfast in Northern Ireland and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow in Scotland.
O’Neill urged people to heed warnings and stay at home if possible.
Thousands without power
“We’re asking the public to be very safe, to be very cautious, to take every precaution to ensure that they don’t take any unnecessary travel, please just stay at home if you can,” she told BBC radio.
“We’re in the eye of the storm now. We are in the period of the red alert.”
The chairman of Ireland’s National Emergency Co-ordination Group, Keith Leonard, said on said Storm Eowyn was likely to be one of the most severe storms Ireland had seen.
“It is going to be a damaging, dangerous and destructive weather event,” he said in Dublin on Friday.
“The forecasted winds will bring severe conditions which will constitute a risk to life and property.
“Our most important message today is that everybody needs to shelter in place for the duration of all red warnings.”
More than 93,000 homes and businesses were already without power in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said.
The provider said Storm Eowyn was causing “widespread damage” to the electricity network, warning that repair work would not begin immediately due to safety concerns.
“We anticipate we will begin assessing the damage to the network after 2pm (1400 GMT) once the red weather warning has been lifted,” it said in a statement.
Britain’s environment agency warned of flooding in southern and central England over the coming days.
Heavy rainfall in Brittany
On the other side of the Channel, Météo France is warning that parts of the northwest region of Brittany will be hit by heavy rainfall and possible flooding Friday night.
The meteorological service said that the area of Morbihan will be subject to an orange warning for rainfall and flooding from 6pm.
The forecasters are anticipating rainfall totals between 20 and 40 millimetres, with the heaviest downpours likely to end around midnight. The institute has warned that the orange warning could be extended to other parts of the region.
Scientists say climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is making storms more severe, super-charged by warmer oceans.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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