Main points
- “Extremely destructive gusts” of wind are forecast as the country is preparing itself for the onset of Storm Éowyn tonight.
- All schools and third-level institutions will be closed on Friday and there will be no public transport operating while the red level warning is in place.
- Storm Éowyn: How serious is a red weather warning, and how should I prepare?
When will the red warning start in my area? (all times are on Friday)
- 2am-10am: Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford
- 3am -11am: Clare and Galway
- 4am-12pm: Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo
- 6am-11am: Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Roscommon and Tipperary
- 7am-2pm: Donegal
- 7am-2pm: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry
Met Éireann chief forecaster Eoin Sherlock has warned the public against any sense of weather warning fatigue.
Mr Sherlock said there have been a lot of weather warnings since the coded weather warnings were introduced, but this one for Storm Éowyn is different.
“There are a lot of storms, but you will know from the last few responses that we do most of this in the virtual world. The fact that we are in the National Emergency Co-ordination Group today signifies that this is amongst the most dangerous storms that Ireland will have faced. This at the extreme end of the Atlantic storms.”
The atmosphere at the NECG group media briefing was particularly grim. Mr Sherlock said there has not been a nationwide red weather alert since Storm Ophelia in 2017.
The energy in the storm is as a result of freezing weather in the US north-east which forced President Donald Trump’s inauguration indoors meeting warm air from the Gulf of Mexico which created an air current that was picked up by the jet steam. As it crosses the Atlantic it will exit the jet stream like a “spinning top and with incredible intensity. Unfortunately, we are in the firing line with this storm,” he explained.
It will pass over the country “relatively quickly” but will leave considerable damage behind.
Atlantic facing coasts in the south-west will experience the highest wind speeds, but inland areas may experience wind that they never experienced before. “There are going to be impacts everywhere. Everywhere is at risk,” he said.
The winds out to sea off the coast of Ireland will be Storm Force 12, these are the equivalent of Hurricane-force winds. Climate change is causing increased wind speed and rain.
National Emergency Co-ordination Group director Keith Leonard urged the public to tie down any furniture. He said people should not go outside even if the red wind warning passes as an orange wind warning will follow immediately afterwards nationwide until 4pm.
He said employers need to be as “flexible as possible with employees and they have a duty of care with employees which trumps other avenues” and he added: “We are going to see a huge number of trees down tomorrow. We are going to be without electricity, broadband and water. There is going to significant disruption.”
Ryanair cancellations ‘inevitable’
Airline Ryanair cautioned that Storm Éowyn would “inevitably” cancel some flights but said conditions would determine which services, writes Barry O’Halloran.
Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, noted that the carrier got 95 per cent of scheduled flights away during Storm Daragh last month.
He advised anyone with bookings to check their emails and keep an eye on the airline’s website for updates.
“Our people decide what to cancel based on conditions,” he explained. “It’s inevitable there will be some cancellations.”
He added that the airline planned to operate its schedule as normal, but would axe flights as necessary, rather than cancelling all services in advance.
Schools to close in Northern Ireland on Friday due to storm warnings
All schools in Northern Ireland have been advised to close on Friday amid a top-level red warning for wind issued for Storm Éowyn.
The Met Office has issued a red alert, which covers all of Northern Ireland from 7am on Friday until 2pm and is warning of “very dangerous conditions” and “widespread disruption”.
“A red weather warning has been issued for Storm Eowyn and the Education Authority has advised that all schools should close tomorrow,” Stormont’s Education Minister Paul Givan said.
“I understand this will impact on the work of schools and indeed on other businesses and services, but the decision has been taken to avoid any potential risk to life for children and young people as well as staff. “Schools should put plans in place today for remote learning so that pupils can study at home.”
The last time all schools in Northern Ireland were advised to close due to weather was due to Hurricane Ophelia in 2017. Forecasters are warning of flying debris resulting in danger to life, as well as “very dangerous” driving conditions because of fallen trees. There may also be power cuts, damage to buildings and homes, and delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights.
A Met Office spokesman said peak rush hour wind speeds of 80-90 miles per hour are expected across Northern Ireland, with up to 100mph in some exposed locations.
“An extremely windy spell with disruption and potentially damaging winds tomorrow morning,” he told the news wire PA.
“It’s a big deep area of low pressure covering Northern Ireland hence the warning that covers Northern Ireland.
“Top wind speeds are expected on higher ground or exposed locations, potentially around coasts.” The record for a gust in Northern Ireland is 124mph in Kilkeel in Co Down in January 1974.
Ireland’s independent radio stations are ramping up preparations to ensure they are ready to quickly provide updated information to householders and businesses over the airwaves during the coming days, as the country braces itself for Storm Eowyn.
Storm Eowyn is expected to be extremely severe in terms of damage and danger, and therefore information provided through our radio stations will be needed by householders or businesses if electricity, water, or telecoms are affected, or if public safety information needs to be rapidly communicated by organisations like the local authorities, the Gardai or other emergency services.
Michael Kelly, Chief Executive of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland commented today: “Our stations have ensured they are ready. At times of severe weather like this, radio is a vital source of information and householders or businesses are always advised to keep their FM radio nearby with spare batteries so they can hear news updates over the airwaves from our stations in relation to damage assessments, repair outlooks and other essential local and national information.”
Mr Kelly added: “Our 34 local, regional, and national stations are prepared. We know from past experience that mobile phone network sites, or indeed mobile phone handsets themselves, can be affected by power cuts, but the FM system is resilient and can communicate directly without need for broadband or internet access. FM provides local and national news and information directly to your radio. The independent radio sector has a total of more than 160 journalists across our stations as well as other essential staff dedicated to providing news updates and bulletins to listeners. Our people will be ensuring vital information is provided quickly to listeners, while keeping safe themselves.”
“We have diesel generators at our stations and at our transmitter locations around the country and, as our radio stations are critical infrastructure, we work closely with ESB Networks. We assure our listeners we will be doing everything we can to provide uninterrupted provision of news and information.”
The UK Met Office is forecasting wind speeds on the west coast of Ireland tomorrow morning gusting at between 161 and 191km/h potentially the strongest since Storm Debbie on September 16th 1961 which hit 182km/h at Malin Head.
That storm killed 18 people in Ireland, 12 people in the Republic and six in Northern Ireland. Hopefully, with a better warning systems this time, there will be no repeat of that death toll.
The chief executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, Jean McCabe is urging the public not to “panic buy” in advance of Storm Éowyn tomorrow.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, she said that most shops would reopen after the Red warning was lifted, so there was no need to stock up on items as had happened prior to previous storms.
BBC Northern Ireland weatherman Barra Best has just stated that Storm Éoywn will be the first time that the whole of Ireland has been in a red weather warning since the warning system was introduced in 2011.
The commentator’s curse - just as I was about to highlight why Northern Ireland has is not in the red zone, the UK Met Office has just upgraded the warning there to red.
The red warning will come into force at 7am and end at 2pm. It has warned of flying debris everywhere, large waves and very dangerous driving conditions.
Looks like the whole of the island of Ireland will be closed for business on Friday.
Met Éireann has updated its status red warnings and added a status orange wind warning for the whole country on Friday afternoon.
The status red wind warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford is valid from 2am to 10am on Friday.
The status red wind warning for Clare and Galway is valid from 3am to 10am on Friday.
The status red wind warning for Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo is valid from 4am to 10am on Friday morning.
The status red wind warning for Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Roscommon, Tipperary is valid from 6am to 11am on Friday morning.
The status red wind warning for Donegal is valid from 7am on Friday morning to 2pm on Friday afternoon.
The status orange wind warning for the State will be in operation in all 26 counties until 4pm on Friday.
Why is the whole of the Republic of Ireland in the red weather zone and Northern Ireland only in the orange zone?
It’s not due to the fondness for the colour orange north of the Border.
Who better to explain it than BBC Northern Ireland weatherman Barra Best. He is one of the few living people to have a storm named after him - Storm Barra in December 2021.
So far the main takeaways from RTÉ's Morning Ireland coverage of the coming storm are the following:
• Storm surges and dangerous conditions pose significant risks, especially for swimmers and coastal areas.
• The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) is prepared to respond, but advises people to avoid unnecessary risks and stay away from the water.
• Local authorities are preparing for extensive power outages and disruptions, and urge people to take precautions and stay indoors during the storm.
• Experts warn the storm could be as severe as Storm Ophelia in 2017, which left many without power for up to a week, and say people need to take preparations
Met Éireann forecaster Aoife Kealy has said many places are likely to experience wind speeds they have not experienced in decades.
She anticipates that the west coast will violent storm force 11 winds of 103km/h gusting to more than 130 km/h along western coasts.
Coastal parts of Kerry, Clare and Galway are most vulnerable.
She told The Irish Times: “This could be one of the more severe storms. There will be dangerous conditions nationwide with extremely damaging wind. Gusts above 130km/h are very possible. Our models are showing wind speeds easily in excess of that figure.
“Mean speeds as well will be easily above 80km/h and possibly even higher. People need to stay indoors at least through the red warning.
“There will be further impacts even after the red warning passes because the winds still will be strong so it may bring down fallen trees weakened during the red warning period. This will be a significant and very dangerous event.
“The winds may not exceed red levels, but it will still be quite dangerous.”
Met Éireann’s forecasted wind speeds for parts of the south-west and west coasts are among the highest ever predicted in Ireland.
Gusts of 162 km/h are predicted for Valentia Island in Co Kerry at 4am and at 6am at Mace Head in Co Galway.
A 154 km/h gust is expected to hit Bellmullet, Co Mayo at 9am and 149 km/h at Malin Head, Co Donegal by 1pm.
To compound matters Met Éireann has issued a new weather warning, this one a status yellow rain warning for Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford from 9pm on Thursday night to 5am on Friday morning. This increases the risk of flooding.
National Emergency Co-ordination Group director Keith Leonard has warned that Storm Éowyn will be at the “very upper end of the Atlantic storms we have seen”.
He anticipates large-scale power and water outages, with restoration work being hampered by further bad weather on Saturday into Sunday. “People are going to have to bear with us as we try to restore them.”
All schools and third-level institutions will be closed on Friday and there will be no public transport operating while the Red level warning is in place.
He suggested that “under no circumstances” should people attempt to travel during the storm, and he urged employers to show flexibility towards their workers.
He advised the public to ensure that their mobile phones are charged overnight in case of emergencies.
All State services are now operating in “emergency mode”.
“We met yesterday and we heard about the plans with local authorities standing up all their local coordination groups,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
“ESB and Irish Water have their crisis management teams and plans activated. So all critical infrastructure and essential services are operating now in emergency mode for the next 24 to 48 hours and we’ll have a meeting again at 10am.
“The key advice for this storm, it is an extreme storm at the very upper end of the Atlantic storms we experience, for those times that red-level warnings are in place - shelter at home, shelter in place, do not move out and particularly, do not travel on the roads during that period.
“The other key piece of advice - make sure your mobile phone is charged and if you find yourself in a really difficult situation, dial 999. Even if your phone is not showing a service, it may pick up a service from another operator, so that’s very important for the next 24 hours.”
Mr Leonard said the clean-up operation once Storm Éowyn passes will be “major”. “It’s really important to emphasise that when the warnings expire, the conditions that people are going to face, likely when they leave their homes and go out, are going to be quite extreme, particularly with the number of trees on the road.
“There’ll be very significant disruption to road networks and to public transport. Local authorities and key infrastructure operators will be out quickly to try and deal with that, but it’s going to be a major clean-up operation well into the weekend.”
Forecaster Joanna Donnelly on RTÉ Radio 1 said the impact of the storm is certain – it will cause widespread damage – but the timings may be updated during the day.
Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy has raised the possibility that Storm Éowyn could be the most violent storm to hit Irish shores in recorded history.
Some weather models are suggesting winds gusting at more than 160 km/h in Co Kerry and Co Galway.
He told RTÉ's Morning Ireland: “It’s a very significant storm, severe winds, destructive winds.
“A red warning is a threat to life and property, the winds, the wind speeds on red warning, are gusting above 130 km/h.”
He said Éowyn will bring severe and destructive winds, but we won’t know if it’s the worst to ever hit Ireland until after the event.
Met Éireann is urging the people to secure anything that needs securing. Though the wind will pass through by Friday afternoon, more stormy weather is expected on Sunday.
A 5am forecast for Ireland on Friday morning, by Meteologix.com, shows onshore winds in Co Kerry of 190 km/h in the Dingle peninsula and 180 km/h in the Comeragh peninsula. To put that in perspective, the highest wind speed during Storm Ophelia in 2017 was 156 km/h. The highest-ever recorded wind speed in Ireland was at Foynes, Co Limerick, on January 18th, 1945 with a gust measured at 182 km/h.
Meteorologist Gerry Murphy is urging the public to check the website met.ie for specific times for their local region for Storm Éowyn. Mr Murphy told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the level Red warning meant that all areas needed to take great care.
Storm Éowyn would be “primarily a wind event”, with winds of up to 130 km/h predicted, with heavy rain in some areas, particularly in the south of the country, which could lead to localised flooding. There was also the possibility of sleet and snow on high ground, he added.
The terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF) for Shannon Airport shows winds gust at 148 km/h at 3am on Friday morning.
By contrast, the highest wind speed recorded during Storm Darragh was 141 km/h, recorded at Mace Head, Co Galway, on Friday, December 6th, last year.
Schools, early learning and childcare facilities and third-level education institutions are set to close across the country on Friday, while the Road Safety Authority urged people to “avoid any travel” during the “unprecedented and life-threatening Storm Éowyn”. ESB Networks has also advised customers to make provisions for the possible loss of power as a result of the storm.
