Thousands of customers in Ireland are without power and more than 100,000 were without water on Friday as a powerful storm moved across the island, bringing record winds and disrupting travel.
The storm, named Eowyn, brought high winds to Ireland on Friday morning and afternoon, according to Met Éireann. Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern and western parts of England and Wales experienced strong winds, with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, according to the National Meteorological Service. The agency issued a red warning, its highest level indicating hazardous weather in parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland, before downgrading on Friday afternoon.
Forecasters warned of wind gusts of up to 100mph along the Irish Sea and southwest Scotland, with 114mph recorded at Mace Head, County Galway hour gusts, beating the Irish record set in 1945.
Ireland’s state-owned electricity company ESB Networks said about 725,000 customers were without power on Friday, nearly a third of the utility’s total 2.4 million customers. Power outages have also disrupted water supplies in the United States, with around 138,000 people across the country without water by the afternoon and many more at risk of losing service, according to Irish Water.
“Widespread power outages at treatment plants and pumping stations continue to impact supplies,” Irish Water said in a statement.
Avon will also bring rain showers and longer periods of rain, according to forecasters, who say there is a chance of hail and snow on Scotland’s hills. The Met Office warned: “Very dangerous conditions could bring widespread damage and significant impacts.”
Strong winds have disrupted travel across Ireland, Scotland and northern England. Ireland’s national transport agency suspended all public transport on Friday. British train company Northern Rail is urging customers to avoid traveling on Friday and Saturday.
Hundreds of flights took root at airports in Ireland and the UK on Friday. Northern Ireland’s Belfast International Airport urged travelers to stay home on Friday and said it was experiencing intermittent power outages. The airport advises that travelers should check the status of their flights with their airlines.
Powerful jet streams – fast-moving high currents of air that drive global weather patterns west to east (and can also speed planes’ journeys) – helped Eowyn gain strength. The jet stream, which is typically 190 to 220 mph, increased to 260 mph this week as a result of the stark temperature contrast from the Arctic blast that has gripped the United States in recent days, as well as warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.
The same weather system this week plunged much of the United States into freezing conditions that haven’t lowered temperatures in decades and life-threatening wind chills.
The last time the UK experienced a storm of this force was in early December, Storm Darragh, which was also affected by a powerful jet stream. Winds in Wales reached 93mph.
For Ireland, Eowyn is the worst storm since 2017, when one of the most powerful storms recorded in the northeast Atlantic killed at least three people.
Eowyn is expected to clear into the Norwegian Sea on Saturday, bringing a brief period of dry and calm conditions to a halt, but another storm system is expected to bring similar hazards to the UK on Sunday and Monday.
Nazaneen Ghaffar Contribution Report.
