Storm Éowyn was a record breaking storm that produced ferocious winds that took no mercy as it battered the UK and Ireland leaving thousands without power alongside dozens of school closures and extensive travel disruption.
Tragically, a man from Portrush, Northern Ireland, died during the storm which saw gusts in excess of 100mph ripping through the landscape during Northern Ireland’s first ever red warning.
Storm Éowyn went through explosive cyclogenesis otherwise known as a ‘Weather Bomb,’ which saw the low pressure system deepening at a frightening speed.
At one point the weather systems mean sea level pressure dropped an incredible 63 millibars in 33 hours to 938hPa; producing a mean speed of 84mph at Mace Head in County Galway, which also saw a record breaking gust of 114mph.
Scotland was also battered by intense wind gusts. At Drumalbin speeds hit 100mph and other northwestern parts of Britain weren’t far behind.
Storm Éowyn had meteorologists on the edge of their seats with many worried it could be as bad as the great storm of 1987, which was intensified when a small area of very strong winds developed, known as a Sting Jet.
The fears were justified as a Sting Jet did actually form off the west coast of Ireland, which most certainly added to the sting of this particular storm.
If you’re wondering how this storm got so powerful, the answers lie within climate change. As this storm developed over the Atlantic it became energised by unusually warm ocean temperatures, caused by the impacts humans are having on the atmosphere.
Even the smallest shifts in temperature are having a noticeable effect on the behaviour of our climate across the globe, which will continue to see more extreme weather more frequently.
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