Storm Éowyn 'strongest to hit UK in 10 years' as man killed after tree fell on his car named

25 January 2025, 13:18

Storm Éowyn was “probably the strongest storm” to hit the UK in the last 10 years, the Met Office has said as thousands remain without power and travel delays continue across the country.

Nearly a million properties were left without power on Friday night as roads were blocked, trains cancelled and schools shut.

More than 1,100 flights were cancelled as winds reached a record 114mph.

One man, 20-year-old Kacper Dudek, was killed when a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal, Ireland.

While the worst of the storm has passed, 80mph winds, ice and snow are expected in parts of the country across the weekend, with a number of weather warnings still in place.

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New weather warnings have been released for the start of the week.

In the East of England a yellow warning for "strong and gusty winds" is now in place between 6am on Monday until the same time on Tuesday.

The Met Office said some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will probably be affected by spray or large waves.

Some disruption to transport and short-term power outages are likely.

A yellow warning has been listed for heavy rain that could bring "some disruption and flooding" in the West Midlands and much of Wales.

The warning runs between 6am and 11.59pm on Monday.

ScotRail said all services across Scotland would remain suspended until midday on Saturday at the earliest.

As Saturday goes on, Storm Éowyn will clear for most of the UK.

Meanwhile, more than 1,100 flights were cancelled on Friday, as Storm Eowyn caused travel chaos at Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow airports.

NIE Networks said around 214,000 homes and businesses remained without power in Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government said 106,000 properties were without power in Scotland late on Friday evening.

On Sunday, a yellow wind warning covering south-west England, English and Scottish coasts around the Irish Sea, Wales and Northern Ireland will be in place from 8am to 3pm, with 50 to 60mph gusts expected widely in the warning area.

Some places could see up to 80mm of rainfall over the period from two separate spells of heavy rain and thundery showers, while 10 to 20mm should fall quite widely and 30 to 50mm could fall over high ground.

Flooding to homes and businesses could occur in the warning area, with power cuts and difficult driving conditions also possible.

There is also a "small chance" of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life, the Met Office said.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: "Looking at Sunday, it's set to be a fairly fine start for a lot of areas - another ridge of high pressure building in to keep things fairly settled, with some sunny spells in there.

"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.

"Winds will also be picking up with this feature. Certainly, it's not going to be as strong as Storm Eowyn. However, because it's coming in from the South West, it's going to be actually more southern areas of England that are going to see the strongest wind gusts compared to what has mostly been further towards the north."