Snow, ice and wind warnings have been extended through until Sunday as a frosty blast strikes parts of the UK, in the wake of Storm Eowyn’s record-breaking wind speeds.
Travel chaos continued on Saturday morning, with flights, trains and ferries cancelled, after winds reaching 100mph caused widespread disruption and widespread damage to rail networks. At least 1,070 flights were axed and 150,000 air passengers affected.
Snow and ice warnings are in force on Saturday across Northern Ireland and nearly all of mainland Scotland, now stretching into Sunday morning.
A warning for life-threatening winds is in force in Orkney and much of Shetland until 3pm, while a less severe wind alert in the Highlands and Hebrides will be in place until Sunday.
The storm has also caused widespread damage to the electricity network, with one million people left without power across the UK and Ireland, after wind speeds topped 114mph in Co Galway, beating the country’s previous record of 113mph set in 1945.
A 20-year-old man in Ireland became the first confirmed storm-related death after a tree fell on his car at 5:30am at Feddyglass in Raphoe.
Key Points
- Travel chaos continues on Saturday as flights, trains and ferries cancelled
- Rail line between Edinburgh and Newcastle reopens after fallen trees cleared
- More than one million without power across UK
- Man dies after tree falls on car in Ireland
- Met Office marks record breaking winds of 100mph in UK
New weather warnings issued as snow and ice alerts extended in Scotland
10:40
,
Andy Gregory
Several new weather warnings have been issued, indicating that snowy and icy conditions are set to remain in Scotland for longer than earlier forecast.
Snow and ice warnings are in force across nearly all of mainland Scotland until 11am, but – after several hours of respite – a fresh warning will come into effect at 6pm, also covering Northern Ireland, until 10am on Sunday.
A warning for life-threatening winds is in force in Orkney and much of Shetland until 3pm, while a less severe wind alert in the Highlands and Hebrides will now also take effect at 6pm and will remain in place for 12 hours.
A new warning for wind in southern England and much of Wales will also now last until 6am on Tuesday, with warnings for wind and rain across much of the southern UK on Monday.
Network Rail says majority of services returning but disruption continues
10:17
,
Andy Gregory
Network Rail has said most of its network is now “up-and-running” after Storm Eowyn.
It said on Saturday morning: “Hundreds of our people have worked through the night clearing debris from the tracks and that clean-up operation continues.
“The majority of the network is now up-and-running but disruption continues in some areas.”
Rail operators have warned of hundreds of incidents of damage across the network, including fallen trees, damaged overhead lines, and even multiple instances of trampolines obscuring railway lines.
It's usually lorries we worry about hitting rail bridges.
— Network Rail (@networkrail) January 24, 2025
PLEASE tie down trampolines and garden furniture if you live near the railway. They can blow onto lines and cause even more disruption to train services.
Just imagine this flying towards a train.#StormÉowyn #Wind pic.twitter.com/tYsF6oja2o
Nearly 200,000 properties remain without power in Northern Ireland
10:06
,
Andy Gregory
In Northern Ireland, 189,000 homes and businesses remain without power following Storm Eowyn, NIE Networks has said.
Power has been restored for 96,000 customers, the network operator added on Saturday morning.
NIE Networks told people to avoid electricity equipment and fallen trees.
Young man killed by falling tree in Ireland named
10:05
,
Andy Gregory
The young man who died in Ireland after a tree fell during Storm Eowyn has been named as Kacper Dudek.
The 20-year-old was killed after a tree fell on his car at Feddyglass, Raphoe in Co Donegal, early on Friday.
Irish police are investigating the incident, and were conducting a full examination of the scene on Saturday morning.
Holy Cross College in Strabane said on Facebook: “The Holy Cross College community sends our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of our past student, Kacper Dudek who has sadly passed away. May Kacper’s gentle soul rest in peace.”
Deadly Storm Eowyn’s fury as 100mph winds batters UK and Ireland
09:37
,
Andy Gregory
Dozens of flood alerts in England as Met Office issues warning for heavy rain
09:24
,
Andy Gregory
With the Met Office warning of heavy rain across most of Wales and southern England on Sunday, with up to 80mm forecast, the Environment Agency has issued scores of flood alerts.
As of Saturday morning, there were 33 flood alerts in England – meaning flooding is possible – and two more severe flood warnings, where flooding is expected.
Nearly 400 incidents of storm-related damage reported, Network Rail Scotland says
09:10
,
Andy Gregory
Network Rail Scotland said nearly 400 “incidents of damage” have been found including more than 120 reports of fallen trees following Storm Eowyn.
It said on X: “Almost 400 incidents of damage have been found since the storm passed, disruption is likely until at least midday.
“So far, we’ve seen over 120 reports of fallen trees across Scotland, along with damage to signalling systems, overhead wires, stations, boundary fencing, level crossings and even train depots suffering damage.”
It added: “We really appreciate your patience while we work to reopen Scotland’s railway. It’s going to be a challenging day, but our teams are working extremely hard to do this. We’ll keep you updated as the day goes on.”
LNER train is first to cross Scottish border as East Coast main line reopens
09:07
,
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
The first departure after the East Coast main line reopened between Newcastle and Edinburgh was the slightly delayed 8am LNER train.
It will run only as far south as Peterborough due to engineering work on the line to London King's Cross.
TransPennine Express is still saying: “Customers advised not to travel to or from Scotland.”
ScotRail says: “Customers should not expect any trains to operate before 12 noon at the earliest. The safety of our staff and our customers is our absolute priority, and we will only run trains when it is safe to do so.”
More flight and rail cancellations heading north: Travel update with Simon Calder
08:55
,
Andy Gregory
Rail line between Edinburgh and Newcastle reopens
08:41
,
Andy Gregory
The railway line between Edinburgh and Newcastle has re-opened in the wake of Storm Eowyn, Network Rail Scotland has said.
On Saturday morning, the rail operator said on X, formerly Twitter: “The first good news from us following the storm.
“We’ve inspected, cleared fallen trees and reopened the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Newcastle.”
Travel chaos continues on Saturday as flights, trains and ferries cancelled
08:38
,
Andy Gregory
Saturday morning has brought fresh travel chaos, with a host of flights, trains and ferries already cancelled amid a host of weather warnings over snow, ice and wind.
British Airways has already cancelled four flights from Scotland to London Heathrow: two from Aberdeen and one each from Edinburgh and Glasgow. EasyJet has delays on flights linking Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Once again, no trains will run between England and Scotland on Saturday, with the West Coast and East Coast main lines closed north of Carlisle and Newcastle respectively. Scotland warned that extensive damage to its infrastructure means rail travel is unlikely until midday on Sunday.
And Northern warned passengers “to avoid travelling where possible” on Saturday in northwest England “due to high winds and rain likely to impact train travel”.
Caledonian MacBrayne, the ferry operator for the Western Isles, is also keeping many ships in port on Saturday morning.
Storm Eowyn map: Where and when snow and 100mph winds will hit UK after Met Office weather warnings issued
08:37
,
Andy Gregory
A man has died in Ireland as the hurricane force winds of Storm Eowyn continue to batter the British Isles, causing travel chaos and prompting danger to life warnings from forecasters.
Flights have been cancelled, roads closed and ferry services axed as winds surpassing 100mph hit parts of the UK and Ireland throughout Friday. Millions have also been left without power across the Isles due to the vicious storm.
A rare red weather warning was lifted on Friday from Scotland and Northern Ireland, where Storm Eowyn damaged buildings, uprooted trees and caused power cuts.
Where will snow, high winds and rain strike this weekend? Read here:
Caledonian MacBrayne ferries in western Scotland: still disrupted
08:18
,
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Caledonian MacBrayne, the ferry operator for the Western Isles, cancelled all its sailings on Friday and is keeping many ships in port on Saturday morning.
The company says: “Due to the impact of Storm Eowyn, when it is safe to do so, checks will be carried out at our ports and on our vessels to ensure there are no risks to customers, our staff or our crews to resume services.”
All Saturday sailings between Kennacraig on the mainland and Islay are cancelled “due to damage caused by Storm Eowyn at both at Kennacraig and Port Ellen ports”.
Between Ullapool and Stornoway, “all sailings on this route remain at high risk of disruption or cancellation at short notice”. But the 7am sailing from Stornoway departed as scheduled.
Some airline passengers arrive 15 hours late while others are still stranded
07:59
,
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
According to the aviation analysts, Cirium, more than 1,000 flights to, from and within the UK and Ireland were grounded because of the storm on Friday.
The worst-affected airports were Edinburgh and Glasgow. Some holiday flights on Jet2 and easyJet were delayed by many hours rather than cancelled. The Jet2 flight from Malaga to Edinburgh due in on Friday afternoon touched down at 7.10am on Saturday, 15 hours late, while easyJet passengers from the Scottish capital to Hurghada in Egypt arrived 10 hours behind schedule.
Saturday looks dismal for many hundreds of passengers who were booked on long-haul departures from Glasgow to Dubai on Emirates and Edinburgh to Doha on Qatar Airways that were cancelled. Many of them connecting to Asia, Africa or Australasia. The second Qatar Airways flight of the day was routed via Manchester and departed from Edinburgh 15 hours late.
With aircraft and crews out of position, cancellations and delays are continuing on Saturday. British Airways has already cancelled four flights from Scotland to London Heathrow: two from Aberdeen and one each from Edinburgh and Glasgow. EasyJet has delays on flights linking Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there.
All Anglo-Scottish rail links axed for a second day
07:42
,
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Once again, no trains will run between England and Scotland. The West Coast and East Coast main lines are closed north of Carlisle and Newcastle respectively.
Avanti West Coast says: “Do not attempt to travel on this route.”
ScotRail says: “Customers should not expect any trains to operate before 12 noon at the earliest” on Sunday. There is extensive damage, with fallen trees on tracks and overhead power lines, and some stations damaged. “We will reintroduce services as quickly as possible,” says Network Rail Scotland.
Northern warned passengers “to avoid travelling where possible” on Saturday in northwest England “due to high winds and rain likely to impact train travel”. The rail firm has issued “Do Not Travel” warnings for links from Cumbria to Manchester airport, Leeds to Carlisle and Leeds to Lancaster and Morecambe.
The many thousands of passengers whose LNER trains to and from London King’s Cross were cancelled on Friday can use their tickets at the weekend – but will find that planned engineering work between Peterborough and the capital will make journeys slower and more complicated.
Next weekend, strikes are due to resume on Avanti West Coast on Sunday 2 February.
Flight and ferry cancellations likely throughout Saturday
07:29
,
Alex Croft
With aircraft and crews out of position, cancellations and delays are continuing on Saturday. British Airways has already cancelled four flights from Scotland to London Heathrow: two from Aberdeen and one each from Edinburgh and Glasgow. EasyJet has delays on flights linking Scotland and Northern Ireland.
All Saturday sailings between Kennacraig on the mainland and Islay are cancelled “due to damage caused by Storm Eowyn at both at Kennacraig and Port Ellen ports”.
Between Ullapool and Stornoway, “all sailings on this route remain at high risk of disruption or cancellation at short notice”.
On the Irish Sea, all P&O Ferries sailings between Cairnryan in southwest Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland were cancelled up to the midnight departures.
Stena Line sailings between Holyhead and Dublin resumed in late afternoon on Friday and are expected to keep to schedule on Saturday.
Travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:
Parts of UK may see flooding over the weekend
07:10
,
Shahana Yasmin
Parts of England and Wales, which already had amber and yellow weather warnings issued by the Met Office over the weekend, saw up to 80mm of rainfall.
Businesses and homes in the warning areas might see flooding, the Met office updated, adding that there was also a “small chance” that fast flowing or deep floodwaters could cause a danger to life, reported PA.
“The cloud, though, is going to be building as we see a low pressure system move into the South West. This will be bringing heavy rain in for south-west England and Wales from sort of mid-morning onwards, and then that will spread into Northern Ireland and northern England as we head later on into the afternoon,” said Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey.
Train chaos expected on Saturday due to railway damage and severe weather
06:50
,
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
Travel chaos will continue this weekend, with rail companies warning that train services will be impacted on Saturday.
ScotRail said on Friday night that “customers should not expect any trains to operate before 12 noon at the earliest” on Sunday.
Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: “This storm has caused extensive damage across Scotland’s railway, bringing trees down onto the tracks and overhead power lines and also damaging stations and other structures.
“Our teams are now working hard to assess the damage, inspect the railway and carry out vital repairs. With dozens of incidents across the country to respond to we will reintroduce services as quickly as possible for our customers.”
Northern warned passengers “to avoid travelling where possible” on Saturday in northwest England “due to high winds and rain likely to impact train travel”. The rail firm has issued “Do Not Travel” warnings for links from Cumbria to Manchester airport, Leeds to Carlisle and Leeds to Lancaster and Morecambe.
Weather ‘Once in a generation’ Storm Eowyn hits UK with 100mph winds
06:30
,
Alex Croft
Storm Eowyn has hit Britain and Ireland with “once in a generation” hurricane-force winds, cancelling more than 1,000 flights and leaving 600,000 homes and businesses without power as forecasters warn more is to come.
Residents in the worst-affected regions have described “crazy” weather conditions, as trees were felled, public transport was brought to a halt and high winds turned everyday objects into dangerous missiles. In County Donegal, a man died after a tree fell on his car.
The Met Office issued a rare red warning in Scotland, with people urged to remain indoors as the severe weather posed a potential danger to life.
A gust of 100mph was recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire early on Friday afternoon, while in Ireland records were broken after winds reached 114mph, with almost 1 million properties left without power.
With chaos set to continue into the weekend, read the full report of Storm Eowyn’s impact on Friday:
Storm Eowyn causes major damage in Dublin
05:10
,
Shahana Yasmin
An ice skating dome in Blanchardstown has been damaged due to Storm Eowyn.
Due to close this Sunday, the structure has been a fixture of the town’s Christmas season for the past decade.
Cool Running Events director Bill Cremin, who operates the business, confirmed to The Irish Times that the tent collapsed between 7am and 8am.
“Once the structure’s integrity was breached, you were looking at a series of events, but the damage got worse as the weather event continued,” Mr Cremin said.
“On the face of it these marquees are quite resilient and they can cope with adverse weather, but not adverse weather with these winds and this severity.”
What comes after Storm Eowyn? Future storm names for 2025 revealed
04:50
,
Shahana Yasmin
The Met Office has already confirmed the storm names to be used across 2024 and 2025 - as the UK hit by Storm Bert.
The new storms list – first launched in 2015 – for each year generally runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn.
James, Lewis and Mavis are all included in the new list in honour of figures from the Met Office’s 170-year history.
Read the full report:
University of Galway sees damage from Storm Eowyn
04:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
Chaosheng Zhang, professor of geography at the University of Galway shares photos of damage caused by Storm Eowyn
Some damages of #stormeowyn on campus @uniofgalway pic.twitter.com/hCTeI8UB0B
— Chaosheng Zhang (@ZhangChaosheng) January 24, 2025
Watch: Storm Eowyn batters parts of Ireland
04:10
,
Shahana Yasmin
Thousands still left without water as focus turns to storm cleanup
03:50
,
Shahana Yasmin
Utility company Uisce Eireann said around 138,000 people had no access to water on Friday evening, adding 750,000 people’s supplies were at risk as well.
Northern Ireland’s Department of Infrastructure said more than 1,800 objects had led to blocked roads, and teams would begin work to clear them as soon as the weather alerts were lifted, reported PA.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said it will take several days before they are able to assess the impact of the “severe” storm.
“We’re only now starting to see the number of calls start to rise in respect of impacts, concerns for safety, and indeed, more and more reports in respect of roads blocked and issues as a consequence of that,” he said.
“So I think it’s going to be a number of days before we can fully understand the full impacts of this storm but certainly this was a severe storm.”
Storm Eowyn in pictures
03:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
More than 1,000 flights cancelled across UK and Ireland on Friday
02:00
,
Alex Croft
One in five flights across the UK and Ireland was cancelled on Friday, with travel disruption due to Storm Eowyn set to continue into the weekend.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said at least 1,070 flights scheduled to operate to, from or between the countries’ airports were axed.
That is equivalent to 20% of all flights, affecting around 150,000 passengers.
Dublin was the worst affected airport in terms of cancellations, with 119 departures and 109 arrivals.
That was followed by Edinburgh (81 departures, 77 arrivals), Heathrow (50 departures, 58 arrivals) and Glasgow (43 departures, 42 arrivals).
Hundreds of passengers also spent hours on flights which returned to their points of departure after being unable to land at their planned destinations.
Forecast for the week ahead
00:20
,
Alex Croft
Unsettled weather is likely to continue into next week with heavy rain and wind likely in some areas, the Met Office says.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Mark Sidaway said: “The set-up for the early part of next week shows a likely continuation of periods of wet and windy weather although less severe than we have seen from Éowyn.
“For the second half of the week we start to see a trend toward more settled conditions which could see a return of some frost and fog.”
‘Significant’ flooding impacts possible over weekend - Environment Agency
Friday 24 January 2025 23:17
,
Alex Croft
The Environment Agency has warned of “significant” flooding impacts over the weekend in central and southwest areas of England.
Sarah Cook, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency said: “Following the disruptive wind and rain brought by Storm Éowyn, significant surface water flooding impacts are possible in central and South West parts of England on Sunday and overnight into Monday due to further heavy rain, with minor impacts possible more widely.
“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and will support local authorities in their response. We urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.
“People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at by searching ‘check my flood risk’, and follow @EnvAgency on X for the latest flood updates.”
ICYMI: More than one million without power across UK
Friday 24 January 2025 22:21
,
Alex Croft
More than one million people have been left without power as Storm Eowyn continues to batter the British Isles.
In the Republic of Ireland around 725,000 customers have been affected, while 283,000 are without power in Northern Ireland.
Around 100,000 households in Scotland are without power, officials confirmed after a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room on Friday afternoon.
The National Grid said early on Friday afternoon that 4,150 properties were without power in the west Midlands, south west England and south Wales regions due to the storm.
Temperatures to drop below freezing on Saturday morning
Friday 24 January 2025 21:40
,
Alex Croft
Temperatures are set to drop below freezing on Saturday morning, according to a Met Office weather chart.
Ranging largely from one to five degrees celsius, temperatures will drop as low as -1C in and 0C in central Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Amber warning for wind lifted
Friday 24 January 2025 21:00
,
Alex Croft
An amber weather warning for wind has been lifted.
The warning area covered northern England and southern Scotland.
The area will remain under a yellow warning for wind until 11:59pm on Friday.
Watch: Entire roof torn off building in Scotland
Friday 24 January 2025 20:11
,
Alex Croft
Watch the dramatic moment an entire roof appears to be torn off a building in Scotland as a result of Storm Eowyn.
A reply to the footage posted on X said the building is in Wester Hailes, south west of Edinburgh, although this has not been verified.
“New builds” mental man. pic.twitter.com/NPuxU15lU3
— Chris wood (@chriswood1875x) January 24, 2025
In pictures: Rubble from collapsed wall after Storm Eowyn batters Scotland
Friday 24 January 2025 19:21
,
Alex Croft
‘Once in a generation’ Storm Eowyn hits UK with 100mph winds
Friday 24 January 2025 18:41
,
Alex Croft
Storm Eowyn has hit Britain and Ireland with “once in a generation” hurricane-force winds, cancelling more than 1,000 flights and leaving 250,000 homes without power as forecasters warn more is to come.
Residents in the worst-affected regions have described “crazy” weather conditions, as trees were felled, public transport was brought to a halt and high winds turned everyday objects into dangerous missiles. In Co Donegal, a man died after a tree fell on his car.
The Met Office issued a rare red warning in Scotland, with people urged to remain indoors as the severe weather posed a potential danger to life.
Holly Evans reports:
Mapped: Weather warnings in place for Friday evening
Friday 24 January 2025 18:20
,
Alex Croft
With a record-breaking storm battering the UK, five Met Office weather warnings will remain in place for Friday evening. Here they are:
- An amber wind warning covering northern England and Wales, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland, until 9pm on Friday.
- A yellow wind warning covering all areas north of the Midlands and most of Wales, until 11:59pm on Friday.
- A yellow snow warning covering large parts of northern Scotland, until 11:59pm on Friday.
- An amber wind warning covering northern Scotland until 6am on Saturday.
- A yellow snow and ice warning covering Northern Ireland from 7pm on Friday until 10am on Saturday.
More than one million without power across British Isles
Friday 24 January 2025 18:10
,
Alex Croft
More than one million people have been left without power as Storm Eowyn continues to batter the British Isles.
In the Republic of Ireland, around 725,000 customers have been affected, while 283,000 are without power in Northern Ireland.
Around 100,000 households in Scotland are without power, officials confirmed after a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room on Friday afternoon.
The National Grid said early on Friday afternoon that 4,150 properties were without power in the west Midlands, south west England and south Wales regions due to the storm.
Man dies after tree falls on car in Ireland
Friday 24 January 2025 17:31
,
Alex Croft
A man has died after a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal during Storm Eowyn, Irish police have said.
It is the first confirmed death as a result of the storm, which has brought winds of well over 100mph to areas of Ireland.
The incident occurred at 5:30am at Feddyglass in Raphoe, in the north-west of the country.
The driver of the car died and his body is still at the scene, police said, as forensic collision investigators look into the incident.
Gardai say they are working with the local authority and third party contractors to facilitate the removal of the man’s body.
