Winds of unprecedented force. Storm Eowyn deprived more than 500,000 homes of electricity this Friday morning in Ireland, where a historic record was measured on the west coast. The country of 5.4 million inhabitants is on red alert, as are Northern Ireland and part of Scotland. The authorities called on residents to stay at home.
Winds reached more than 100 km/h, and the national weather agency, Met Eireann, said the historic record from 1945 was broken around 5 a.m., with gusts measured at 183 km/h near Galway. In this same area, the average wind speed record was also broken, with 135 km/h recorded, corresponding to the “force of a hurricane”said the agency.
Massive power outages
These winds cause significant disruptions, particularly in transport. “Electricity infrastructure suffered unprecedented widespread and significant damage, with power outages affecting 560,000 customers at 6 a.m.”announced the public electricity operator ESB in a press release.
At Cork, Shannon and Dublin airports, many flights have been canceled. Dublin Airport announced on X the cancellation of more than a hundred departing and as many arriving flights and warned that other cancellations and delays were expected during the day.
-The storm is also affecting the British province of Northern Ireland, where 93,000 homes are without electricity, according to operator NIE Networks. The red alert for strong winds has been in effect since 7 a.m. This is the first time that such an alert has been issued in the province since the system was put in place in 2011. The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, warned that the region was currently “in the eye of the storm” and called the population “to stay safe”. Schools will not welcome students on Friday, trains and buses will not run.
Orange vigilance in Morbihan
Storm Éowyn is then forecast to move towards Scotland, where a red alert is in force in some areas. The whole of the United Kingdom is placed on alert. In France, Morbihan, in Brittany, was placed on orange rain-flood alert from 6 p.m. this Friday. If the expected accumulations will not be record, the soils already saturated with water pose risks of overflow.
Scientists regularly warn that climate change is amplifying the destructive force of storms, cyclones, hurricanes and other typhoons across the planet. Warmer oceans release more water vapor, which provides additional energy to storms, whose winds intensify. Warming of the atmosphere also allows them to retain more water, which encourages heavy precipitation.
