January is miserable enough as it is. Post-Christmas, we’re low on money, low on energy, the weather’s grey and no one wants to make any plans. As we head into the final weekend of Jan, it’s got one more thing up its sleeve – large parts of the UK are set to get battered by a storm named Éowyn (pronounced ‘ay-oh-win’).
Red, yellow and amber weather warnings are in place throughout the country. Experts have called the gale a ‘weather bomb’, which is when pressure inside a larger low-pressure system falls at a rapid rate over 24 hours, circling faster and faster, creating a violent winds strong enough to cause structural damage and danger to life.
So, here’s everything we know about Storm Éowyn arriving this weekend.
When will Storm Éowyn hit the UK?
The Met Office has forecast that intense winds and heavy showers will arrive from Friday, January 24.
How long will Storm Éowyn last?
Storm Éowyn is expected to have its biggest impact on areas all over the UK on Friday. But it will continue in some parts of the UK through the weekend, with some warnings in place until the morning of Monday, January 27.
Where will Storm Éowyn hit?
Severe weather warnings are in place for the entirety of the UK on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Forecasters say Éowyn ‘could bring gusts in excess of 80mph on exposed coasts in Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales and western Scotland’.
What is the expected wind speed?
The wind speeds will differ across the country but some areas are facing powerful gusts as fast as 100mph, or even more. The fastest recorded wind speed recorded from Storm Éowyn so far was 114mph in Ireland.
Weather warnings
Red weather warning
From 6am to 9pm today (January 24), there are rare red weather warnings covering Northern Ireland and parts of central and southern Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Northern Ireland warning runs from 7am to 2pm, and the Scotland warning from 10am to 5pm.
The red alert signifies ‘very dangerous conditions’. There is the potential of flying debris with danger to life, very dangerous driving conditions, power cuts and roads, bridges and railway lines closed.
Amber weather warning
An amber alert covers parts of central Scotland, including Dundee and Inverness, northern England, including Blackpool, Greater Manchester, Newcastle and Yorkshire, north Wales and northern Ireland. The Met Office says that these areas are likely to experience power cuts, disrupted public transport and injuries or danger to life from flying debris.
The amber alert in England ends at 9pm on Friday while the warning is in place in Scotland until 6am on Saturday.
Yellow weather warning
The rest of the UK is under a yellow weather warning for wind, lasting until 3pm today. That includes the Midlands, the southwest and southeast of England and south Wales.
There’s an additional yellow warning for wind lasting from 8am until 3pm on Sunday for Wales, Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland and northeast England. And there’s an additional yellow warning for rain from 8am on Sunday until 6am Monday for the the Midlands, southwest England and Wales. Where will there be snow in the UK?
You can keep track of the storms progress and weather warning updates over on the Met Office website. Some snow is expected over higher ground in the north of the country and Scotland, but that’s about it.
Travel disruption
Several UK rail routes have cancelled services or issued ‘do not travel’ warnings while Éowyn blows through. Find a full list of those here.
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