A red-level weather warning has been extended nationwide to all 26 counties in the Republic on Friday.
Met Éireann says Storm Éowyn could bring life-threatening conditions and extremely destructive gusts in excess of 130km/h.
How serious will this storm be?
Storm Éowyn is set to be a “very rare and dangerous weather event” with wind speeds reaching “some of the most extreme levels” ever experienced, Met Éireann has said. Status red weather warnings are only issued in during “intense meteorological phenomena”, according to the national forecaster.
Members of the public are advised to “take action to protect themselves and their properties” and to stay indoors until the early afternoon on Friday when the red wind warning ends in most areas, said forecaster Elizabeth Coleman. She said there were particular concerns about people’s safety, given the storm force winds were hitting when people would normally be travelling to work.
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“Stay indoors, there is no need to go outside,” Ms Coleman said, adding that people should use Thursday to take all measures to protect their properties. “Some of the wind speeds we’re expecting are at the most extreme levels we’ve ever seen.” Red weather warnings were previously been issued across the entire country during Storm Ophelia in 2017 and Storm Emma in 2018.
Keith Leonard, chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, warned the “dangerous, destructive” weather event will be among the most severe storms Ireland has ever seen. “It will be a rare event, at the extreme end of the storms Ireland faces,” Mr Leonard said. The storm damage on Friday to be similar to, or may even exceed, that experienced in October 2017 when 385,000 homes and businesses lost power, he said.
Will schools close for a red weather alert?
Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), said education institutions look set to close for the full day on Friday due to uncertainty over potential damage, electricity supply and access to transport.
“The official guidance is clear: schools must close for the duration of the red warning, so school leaders are making preparations to close for the full day Friday in all the areas affected,” he said.
What about work and travel?
Employers in red warning areas - which have now been extended across the country - have been told they should facilitate working from home for all employees who can do so, with only emergency service workers leaving home for work if necessary.
Business lobby group Ibec said it was “critical” for organisations to clarify and communicate their plan for work during the extreme weather event to employees as early as possible and to keep managers “urgently informed” of the situation to “ensure consistency” across businesses.
An Irish Rail spokesman said he expected there would be “major disruptions” to rail services on Friday and that details of cancellations across all transport services would be confirmed by the National Transport Authority on Thursday morning.
A spokesman for DAA, the Dublin Airport management company, advised passengers scheduled to travel on Friday to contact their airline for updates. Social media channels will be updated as and when airlines make decisions regarding their flight schedules, he said. However, the best line of contact is directly through the airline, he added. Cork Airport has also advised its customers to contact airlines for updates.
The red wind warnings will come into effect in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Waterford at 2am, and will last until 10am.
In Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Roscommon, Tipperary, the red wind warning will extend from 6am to midday.
In Donegal, the red wind warning will be valid from 6am until 3pm; in Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, it is expected to last from 4am to midday; and in Clare and Galway it will be from 3am to midday.
People living within the red warning area have been advised by ESB Networks to make provision for the possible loss of power as a result of the storm.
The forecaster had earlier issued an nationwide orange-level weather warning but quickly upgraded it. The orange-level warning will resume on Friday afternoon and remain in place till 5pm.
The UK Met Office has also issued an amber weather warning for all six counties of Northern Ireland.
On Friday night, winds will begin to abate but it will stay blustery. It will be followed by cold night with clear spells and scattered showers, some wintry. Lowest temperatures of -2 to +3 degrees are expected, with some frost possible towards dawn on Saturday as winds continue to ease.
The name Éowyn – pronounced Ay-oh-win – is perhaps most widely known as the name of a character in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. The fantasy author created the name for a female warrior, who was portrayed by Australian actress Miranda Otto in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.
It is thought that Tolkien created the name using the Old English words for horse (‘eoh’) and joy (‘wynn’). The fictional Éowyn’s people, the Rohan, were known as horsemen and women.
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