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Weather warnings have been extended through until Tuesday as a frosty blast named Storm Herminia by European meteorlogists strikes parts of the UK, in the wake of Storm Eowyn’s record-breaking wind speeds.
Power was knocked out to more than a million properties and flights, trains and ferries were cancelled, after winds reaching 100mph caused widespread damage and disruption.
Snow and ice warnings were in force on Sunday morning across Northern Ireland and nearly all of mainland Scotland, with a wind alert in the Highlands and Hebrides in place until 7pm.
The Environment Agency has issued nearly 30 flood alerts and one more severe flood warning in England, as forecasters warn of up to 80mm of rain in some areas.
The storm has also caused widespread damage to the electricity network, with one million people left without power across the UK and Ireland, after wind speeds topped 114mph in Co Galway, beating the country’s previous record of 113mph set in 1945.
A 20-year-old man in Ireland became the first confirmed storm-related death after a tree fell on his car on Friday in County Donegal.
Engineers sent from England to help restore power to those facing outages in Northern Ireland
Additional engineers have been brought to Northern Ireland from Great Britain to help NIE Networks with the task of restoring power to more than 100,000 properties.
Some 52 engineers from England were scheduled to arrive on Saturday, with 30 to be utilised by NIE and 22 to assist ESB Networks in the Irish Republic, and further resources to follow.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 10:14
ICYMI: Sky News presenter lashed by wind and rain as power goes out during Storm Eowyn broadcast
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 10:09
115,000 properties left without power after Storm Eowyn
Thousands of properties remain without power in the UK following Storm Eowyn.
At about 8am on Sunday, NIE Networks said 101,000 of its customers in Northern Ireland do not have power, and it had been restored to 183,000.
By the same time, more than 14,000 SP Energy Networks customers in central and southern Scotland were off-grid.
More than 165,000 SP Energy Networks users had been re-connected.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 09:55
Storm Herminia ‘will be a notch down’ from Eowyn, says Met Office forecaster
Storm Herminia, as it is being dubbed by Spanish meteorologists, is forecast to hit the south west of England and Wales first and then move into Northern Ireland and northern England on Sunday afternoon, reaching parts of Scotland by the evening.
-Met Office forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said: “This is certainly going to be a notch down compared to Eowyn, whilst there is the potential for 60 to 70mph gusts of wind across the very far south west generally, we’re not going to be seeing the same strengths of winds as we have seen over the last couple of days.”
However “there are a lot of sensitivities around” following Eowyn, he said.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 09:37
Temperatures fall to -3C as 31mm of rain falls, Met Office says
According to yesterday’s weather extremes, published by the Met Office, Kinlochewe in the Highlands experienced more than 31mm of rain, while Benson in Oxfordshire saw temperatures drop as low as -3C.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 09:18
Watch: Deadly Storm Eowyn’s fury as 100mph winds batters UK and Ireland
Shahana Yasmin26 January 2025 09:00
Around 35,000 properties still without power in Scotland on Saturday evening
Around 35,000 properties in Scotland were still without power on Saturday evening, a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said.
Sunday will start “fine and dry” with a “decent amount of sunshine” in many parts of the country, meteorologists said.
But a new low-pressure system is moving in from the south west bringing further strong winds and heavy rain.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 08:40
Full report: Strong winds and heavy rain approaching UK as Eowyn dies down
More strong winds and heavy rain are approaching the UK as Storm Eowyn dies down.
The last of Eowyn is pushing across the UK overnight and producing snow and ice warnings in parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 08:19
Storm Eowyn map: Where and when snow will hit UK as fresh weather warnings issued
A flurry of fresh weather warnings for snow, wind and rain were issued on Saturday as Storm Eowyn continues to batter the UK and Ireland.
Flights have been cancelled, major rail routes closed and ferry services axed again on Saturday after winds surpassing 100mph hit parts of Britain throughout Friday. Millions were left without power due to the vicious storm.
But the Met Office has now issued weather warnings through until Tuesday, with a new low-pressure system set to take hold over the weekend, moving in from the southwest as Storm Eowyn passes.
Alex Croft26 January 2025 08:00
Where have flood alerts been issued?
Ahead of today’s Met Office warning for heavy rain across much of England and Wales, the Environment Agency has issued a total of 31 flood alerts in England, meaning fllooding is possible, and one more severe warning on Salisbury Plain, where flooding is expected.
No flood alerts have been issued by Natural Resource Wales.
Andy Gregory26 January 2025 07:47
