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Ireland, U.K. hit by record winds as Storm Éowyn shuts down transport, leaves 1 million people without power

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London — Record winds battered Ireland, Northern Ireland and parts of the mainland U.K. on Friday, with the severe gales spreading across the region, including the full width of Scotland, as the isles bore the brunt of Storm Éowyn. 

Met Éireann, the Republic of Ireland's national meteorological service, said the country was being buffeted by wind gusts of up to 114 mph in County Galway — the highest ever recorded on the island. 

The Republic of Ireland was under a "Red Warning" from its meteorological body— meaning the public was warned that the storm was "extremely destructive and dangerous." 

IRELAND-STORM-EOWYN
Waves crash onto the shore in Bantry Bay, on the southwest coast of Ireland, on Jan. 24, 2025, as storm Eowyn brings winds over 100 mph to the U.K. and Ireland.  JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty

ESB Networks, the government-run body responsible for most of the Ireland's electrical grid, said Friday morning that over 715,000 homes, farms and businesses had been left without power as a result of the storm. More power outages were expected throughout Friday, ESB said. Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said approximately 240,000 customers were without power in the region by Friday afternoon — meaning close to one million people were without power across the island.

Scottish Power, an electricity provider in Scotland, said around 15,000 of its customers were without power, according to CBS News partner network BBC News. 

More than 230 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at Dublin Airport were cancelled Friday morning as a result of the severe weather, and all public transport was suspended across Ireland as government officials warned the public to remain indoors.

Rare Red Weather Warning In Place As Storm Eowyn Becomes First Named UK Storm Of 2025
 A fallen tree brought down during Storm Eowyn blocks the road on January 24, 2025 in Holywood, near Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Charles McQuillan / Getty Images

The U.K.'s Met Office said Friday that similar red warning notices were in place in parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Gusts over 90 mph were recorded in Northern Ireland and parts of northern Wales Friday morning as Storm Éowyn shifted toward the United Kingdom. Many trains and other public transport options were locked down in the northern U.K. 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 U.K. There is potential for gusts of 100 mph in exposed locations within the Red Warning area," Chief U.K. Meteorologist Jason Kelly said in a statement Friday. "Anyone in these Red and Amber warning areas should listen to advice from local responders and keep up to date with weather warnings for their area."

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

Storm Éowyn (pronounced AY-oh-win) became what is known as a bomb cyclone between Thursday and Friday, according to CBS News' partners at the Weather Channel. The storm has its origins in the recent U.S. Gulf Coast winter storm. 

"Jet stream energy that helped produce historic snowfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast Tuesday triggered the development of low pressure off the southeastern U.S. coast. From there, that low has rapidly intensified over the North Atlantic and spread into Ireland and the U.K. as an intense 'bomb cyclone,'" the Weather Channel said. 

A bomb cyclone, also known as bombogenesis, is described by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a fast-developing storm that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period. The pressure associated with Storm Éowyn dropped by about 50 millibars as it neared the western Irish coast, according to the British weather service.

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