Hundreds of thousands of people were out of power in Ireland on Friday. This is an extremely high number for a small country, with powerful storms moving across the island and disrupting travel with record winds.
A storm named Éowyn was expected to bring Gaar through Friday, according to the Irish Met Office. Forecasters also said Northern Ireland, southern Scotland, the northern and western regions of England and Wales and western regions would see strong winds. Britain's National Weather Service has issued its highest level warning for dangerous weather for parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Hills and coasts along the Irish Sea and south-west Scotland could experience wind gusts of up to 100mph, the service said. At 5am, a wind gust of 114mph was recorded at Macehead, County Galway, breaking an Irish record set in 1945.
ESB Networks, Ireland's state-owned electricity company, said about 715,000 customers were without power on Friday morning.
Éowyn will also bring rain showers and longer spells of rain to northern Ireland, according to Irish forecasters. Forecasters said there was a chance of hail and snow in the Scottish hills. Britain's Met Office warned of “extremely dangerous conditions with widespread disruption and significant impact”.
Strong winds have disrupted travel across Ireland, Scotland and northern England. Ireland's National Transport Authority suspended all public transport on Friday. British train company Northern Rail urged customers to avoid traveling on Friday and Saturday.
Hundreds of flights were grounded at airports in Ireland and the UK on Friday. Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland urged travelers to stay home on Friday and said it was experiencing intermittent power outages. Travelers should check the status of their flights with their airline, the airport advised.
The powerful jet stream – a powerful high-altitude current that drives the world's weather patterns from west to east (and can also speed up air travel) – helped Eowyn gain its strength. Ta. The typically 190-220 mph jet stream increased to 260 mph this week, strengthened by the harsh temperature contrast created by the Arctic blast and warm, moist air in the Gulf of Mexico that gripped the United States in recent days.
The same weather system plunged much of the United States into frigid conditions this week, delivering low temperatures and life-threatening wind chills not seen in decades.
The last time the UK experienced a storm of this strength was with Storm Dara in early December, which was also affected by a strong jet stream. Wind speeds in that storm reached 93 miles per hour in Wales.
For Ireland, Eowyn is the most severe storm since 2017. It was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Northeast Atlantic, killing at least three people.
Eowyn was expected to enter the Norwegian Sea on Saturday.
nazani gaffar Contributed report.