In addition to flood alerts, many homes – especially in Northern Ireland – have been left without power.
Éowyn is the fifth storm that the Met Office has given a name to this season (which runs from September to August) following Ashley, Bert, Conall, and Darragh.
A tree lies on a road during Storm Eowyn
REUTERS
Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “We reserve the issuing of red warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption, and that is the case with Storm Éowyn.
“While it will be widely very windy on Friday, with additional hazards from rain and snow, the strongest winds and most significant impacts are likely in Northern Ireland and central and southwestern parts of Scotland within the Red Warning areas, where winds could gust 80-90 mph quite widely for a time, and potentially up to 100 mph for exposed coasts in particular.”
People walking their dogs on a wind-swept beach at Tynemouth Longsands on the North East coast of England
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
How are storms given their names?
Since 2015, the Met Office has been naming storms that it considers will have a medium or high impact potential in the UK – as well as its partners in Ireland and the Netherlands.
Met Office head of situational awareness Will Lang said: “This is the tenth year of us naming storms and we do it because it works. Naming storms helps to make communication of severe weather easier and provides clarity when people could be impacted by the weather.”
Storms are named when they’re deemed to have the potential to cause ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands.
“Wind is the primary consideration for naming a storm, but additional impacts from rain or snow will also be considered in the naming process,” the Met Office states.
The storm names for 2024/25, as publicised by the Met Office
Met Office
Who decides on the name of a storm?
The Met Office comes up with the names in partnership with its Irish and Dutch equivalents Met Éireann and KNMI. It means that Dutch and Irish names are in the mix alongside English ones.
Anyone can suggest a storm name and the Met Office receives thousands of ideas each year. It then meets Met Éireann and KNMI to finalise the choices. The Met Office receives nominations through social media and email.
Eoin Sherlock, head of forecasting division in Met Éireann said: “Our key priority is to help protect life and property from extreme weather and ensure the safety of our communities. Year after year storm naming proves effective for that. Naming each storm increases the level of public safety and preparedness as people are more likely to remember and respond to warnings when storms are named.”
Éowyn strikes Edinburgh
REUTERS
Those that have been felt already:
