Hundreds of thousands of people were without power on Friday in Ireland, an extraordinarily high number for the small country, as a powerful storm moved its way across the island, bringing record-breaking winds and disrupting travel.
The storm, named Eowyn, was expected to bring gales throughout Friday, according to the Irish Meteorological Service. Forecasters also said that Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and the northern and western areas of England and Wales would see strong winds.
Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour were forecast, and the hills and coasts of the Irish Sea as well as southwestern Scotland could experience gusts of up to 100 m.p.h., the service said. At 5 a.m., a gust of 114 m.p.h. was recorded in western Ireland at Mace Head, County Galway, beating a record set in 1945.
ESB Networks, an Irish state-owned power company, said that about 715,000 of its customers were without power on Friday morning, nearly a third of the utility’s roughly 2.4 million total customers.
Eowyn will also bring rain showers and longer spells of rain across the north of Ireland, according to Irish forecasters. And there was a chance of hail and snow in the hills of Scotland, according to forecasters. Britain’s Meteorological Office warned of “very dangerous conditions with widespread disruptions and significant impacts.”
The strong winds disrupted travel across Ireland, Scotland and the north of England. Northern Rail, an English train company, urged its customers to avoid traveling on Friday and Saturday because of severe disruptions from the storm.
Hundreds of flights were grounded at airports across Ireland and Britain. Belfast International Airport, in Northern Ireland, urged travelers to stay home on Friday and said it was experiencing intermittent power outages. Travelers should check with their airlines on the status of their flights, the airport advised.
A strong jet stream — a high altitude current of fast-moving air that drives global weather patterns west to east — helped Eowyn gain its strength. The jet stream, which can also speed up plane journeys, is usually 190 to 220 m.p.h. but strengthened to 260 m.p.h. this week.
Eowyn is the most severe storm to hit Ireland since 2017, when one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the northeastern Atlantic killed at least three people.
Nazaneen Ghaffar contributed reporting.
