Ireland, western UK hit by record winds as Storm Éowyn shuts down transport, leaves thousands without power

London – Record winds lashed Ireland, Northern Ireland and parts of the UK mainland on Friday, with strong winds expected to spread across the region, including across the width of Scotland, as whose islands bore the brunt of Storm Éowyn.

Met Éireann, the national weather service of the Republic of Ireland, said the country was being battered by wind gusts of up to 114mph in County Galway – the highest ever recorded on the island.

The Republic of Ireland was under a “Red Warning” from its weather service – meaning the public was being warned that the storm was “extremely destructive and dangerous”.

ESB Networks, the government-run organization responsible for most of Ireland’s electricity grid, said on Friday morning that more than 715,000 homes, farms and businesses had been left without power as a result of the storm. More power outages are expected throughout Friday, ESB said.

More than 230 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at Dublin Airport were canceled on Friday morning due to the severe weather, and all public transport was suspended across Ireland as government officials warned the public to stay at home.

The Met Office of the United Kingdom said on Friday that similar red warning notices were in place in parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Gusts in excess of 90mph were recorded in Northern Ireland and parts of North Wales on Friday morning as Storm Éowyn moved towards the UK. Many trains and other public transport options were closed in the Northern UK and there were initial reports of some wind damage to trees and buildings.

“Storm Éowyn is now bringing very strong winds to parts of the UK. There is the potential for gusts of 100mph in exposed places in the Red Warning area,” UK Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly said in a statement Friday. “Anyone in these Red and Amber warning areas should listen to advice from local officials and keep up to date with weather warnings for their area.”

The most severe red warnings in the UK, indicating a possible threat to life, covered Northern Ireland and the far north of England and southern and central Scotland, but the area amber warning, indicating a likelihood of travel disruption and a possible risk of flying debris. , covered a much wider area, extending south to Manchester and Liverpool.

Emmett Lyons

Emmet Lyons is a news editor at the CBS News London agency, coordinating and producing stories for all CBS News platforms. Before joining CBS News, Emmet worked as a producer at CNN for four years.