Published: 17:24, January 23, 2025
Storm Éowyn set to bring 'weather bomb' to UK and Ireland
By Bloomberg
Tourists hold umbrellas against the rain as they walk in Parliament Square next to the the Houses of Parliament in London, Feb 22, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Storm Éowyn will bring a “weather bomb” to Ireland and the UK, unleashing destructive winds and heavy rain, the Met Office forecaster said.

People across Ireland were told to stay home Friday, with schools closing as severe weather warnings come into force. In the UK, major transportation disruption is expected, with trains canceled between the north of England and Scotland and authorities predicting wind damage, flooding and power outages.

“A beast is brewing a really intense jet stream,” Alex Deakin, a meteorologist with the Met Office, said at a briefing. Ireland’s Met Éireann warned of “significant disruption due to fallen trees and structural damage.”

The Irish service issued red wind warnings starting 2 am Friday and covering all of the country through the day. It said 130 kilometer-per-hour gusts could make travel extremely dangerous.

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The UK issued an orange wind warning starting 6 am Friday for Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and Scotland. Hardest-hit areas in those regions will be the exposed coasts, which could see gusts of as much as 90 miles an hour. Other areas, including London, are under yellow alert.

Éowyn is also set to bring snow to parts of the UK, with as much as 25 centimeters forecast for the Scottish Highlands, the Met Office said. Snow warnings have also been issued for northern England.

The storm has been magnified by an Arctic blast that swept through the US earlier this week, wreaking havoc across the typically snow-less American South. That weather system gassed up the jet stream, feeding Éowyn.