Severe Weather Alert: More Strong Winds, Heavy Rain, and Snow Expected in Britain This Weekend, Disrupting Train Services in Scotland Until Tomorrow Noon following 114mph StormCancellation of 1,000 Flights

The UK is set to face more harsh weather conditions this weekend as the Met Office has issued warnings for snow, ice, wind, and rain until Monday following the disruption caused by Storm Eowyn.

The strong gusts, reaching hurricane-force levels, will persist into the evening with a rare red warning in effect until 5 pm today and an amber warning extended until 6 am tomorrow.

Travel disruptions are likely to carry on into tomorrow, particularly affecting train services in Scotland, which are not anticipated to resume until at least noon tomorrow following the cancellation of all ScotRail services today.

The Met Office said the strongest winds will clear the UK tonight although Scotland will still see gusty conditions tomorrow. A brief calmer spell will then follow, before another area of low pressure brings further strong winds and heavy rain on Sunday.

A fresh yellow wind warning for Scotland will begin at midnight tonight and run until 3pm tomorrow; while snow will also present a major hazard, with a yellow warning in place from 7pm this evening until 10am tomorrow for Northern Ireland and Scotland.

A yellow ice warning is also in place for motorists to brace for hazardous conditions in the Midlands, South West England and South Wales from 3am tomorrow until 10am.

On Sunday, a wind warning will run in the West from 8am to 3pm; and a rain warning for southern England and Wales will be active from 8am Sunday until 6am Monday.

Flooding is also still a concern for communities, with 37 flood alerts and three warnings in England along with ten alerts and three warnings in Scotland. It comes as:

Meanwhile Craig Revel Horwood revealed tonight’s Strictly Come Dancing live show in Glasgow had been postponed due to the storm forcing people to stay indoors. The Strictly judge confirmed that the show will take place on Sunday evening instead.

Rail services and flights were axed during the storm today as 114mph winds hit the British Isles causing a danger to life and people were urged to stay at home.

Some 20 per cent of all flights scheduled to or from UK or Irish airports were axed today, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium which said a total of 1,070 had been cancelled – with Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow worst affected.

The top UK wind gust so far has been 100mph at Drumalbnin in South Lanarkshire, followed by 96mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, 93mph at Aberdaron in Gwynedd, Wales, and 92mph at Killowen in County Down, Northern Ireland – while the 114mph at Mace Head in the Republic of Ireland was the country’s fastest ever.

Hundreds of schools closed in Scotland, Wales and northern England today – while 715,000 homes, farms and businesses were without power across the Republic of Ireland, and a further 240,000 homes and business in Northern Ireland suffered cuts.

The Isle of Man’s Department of Infrastructure declared a major incident because of the number of fallen trees and their impact on arterial roads and emergency services. 

Train operator ScotRail suspended all services across Scotland today, insisting it ‘would not be safe to operate passenger services due to forecast weather conditions’.

The railway operator later added that it will not know the full extent of the damage to its tracks and overhead lines until Network Rail carries out a full assessment, a process ScotRail says will ‘take quite a bit of time’.

Workers are expected to start clearing fallen trees and other debris that has landed on the tracks. As a result, all ScotRail services will be suspended until at least 12pm tomorrow.

Other train companies including LNER, Avanti West Coast, Lumo, CrossCountry and Grand Central told customers not to travel on routes across parts of North Wales, Scotland and northern England with no Anglo-Scots services today.

Northern said many of its routes were shut because of severe weather, with lines blocked between Manchester and Warrington because of a fallen tree. 

The worst-hit airports in the UK and Ireland in terms of number of cancellations today were Dublin (120 departures, 110 arrivals), Edinburgh (85 departures, 80 arrivals), Heathrow (51 departures, 62 arrivals) and Glasgow (44 departures, 43 arrivals). 

Others affected included Belfast International (16 departures and 16 arrivals), Belfast City (23 departures and 20 arrivals) and Aberdeen (25 departures and 25 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.

Ryanair flight RK596 from London Stansted to Edinburgh reached the Scottish capital’s airport but could not touch down safely.

After circling over the Borders it returned to Stansted, landing two hours and 44 minutes after taking off.

Online systems initially showed the flight was diverting to Cologne, Germany.

Passengers onboard Ryanair flight FR338 from Luton to Dublin are enduring a similar experience.

The plane took off from the Bedfordshire airport at 9.33am, and is scheduled to land back there at 12.24pm after reaching the Irish capital but being unable to touch down.

A Ryanair spokesman said: ‘A small number of flights to/from the UK today are experiencing disruptions due to Storm Eowyn.

‘We are advising passengers who have been affected by the storm to check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.

‘Ryanair sincerely apologises to all passengers affected by these storm-related disruptions, which are entirely beyond our control and have impacted all airlines operating to/from the UK.’

But Big Jet TV founder Jerry Dyer said he had expected winds at Heathrow today to be ‘a bit stronger’.

Mr Dyer, whose channel shot to fame in 2022 during Storm Eunice when it showed planes trying to land at the airport, told Metro: ‘Conditions today have been a lot calmer than what we’ve had in the past.’

He said: ‘In terms of today, we haven’t seen any go arounds. We were expecting winds to be a bit stronger. I think they maxed out at around 40mph.

‘If you can see right down while you can see the wind sock – it’s still a little bit blustery, but certainly nothing that these guys [pilots] can’t handle.’

Calmac Ferries on Scotland’s west coast and Steam Packet Ferries between Heysham and the Isle of Man both said today’s planned sailings had been cancelled.

Dramatic videos showed planes struggling to land and wheelie bins blown across streets in the strong winds.

One extraordinary clip captured a miraculous escape when a man narrowly avoided being hit by a falling roof tile in his garden in the Andersonstown area of Belfast .

Other videos showed TV presenters struggling to stand up while delivering reports, garden trampolines being blown away and telegraph poles dancing in the winds.

Passengers and motorists in areas covered by red and amber weather warnings have been told to avoid travel ‘unless absolutely essential’ – with millions urged to stay at home in the worst-hit regions after receiving emergency alerts on their phones.

Hundreds of schools were shut today including 120 in Aberdeenshire, 43 in the Highlands, 42 in Northern Ireland, 30 in Northumberland and seven in Cumberland.

Glasgow City Council said all of its school and nurseries were closed, while Edinburgh Council shut all schools. Argyll and Bute and the Scottish Borders closed all schools – while in Wales, more than 30 in Anglesey and two in Gwynedd were shut.

It comes after supermarket shelves were cleared in parts of Edinburgh yesterday amid reports of panic buying before the storm hit as people stocked up on food and other provisions.

The storm name Eowyn – pronounced ‘A-yo-win’ – is also found in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, where it is the name of a noblewoman from the kingdom of Rohan. 

Red warnings for wind were issued by the Met Office in Northern Ireland from 7am until 2pm today, and for western and central areas of Scotland between 10am and 5pm.

Gusts of 80 to 90mph are expected widely inland in the warning areas, with speeds of up to 100mph likely along coasts, the forecaster said. 

Additionally, a red warning is in place for the Isle of Man until 2pm, which is the first such alert issued on the island for seven years.

At 11am today, the Met Office extended its red weather warning to cover more of Scotland.

The warning now covers as far south as Lockerbie on the south-west of Scotland. The Met Office made the announcement at around 11am.

Amber wind warnings are also in place for Northern Ireland, the southern half of Scotland, northern England and north Wales between 6am and 9pm today, and the northern half of Scotland from 1pm today to 6am tomorrow.

Winds reaching 60 to 70mph will be widespread in these warning areas.

There is a yellow wind warning covering most of the UK for the entirety today.

Smaller yellow warnings for snow in Scotland, from 6am to midnight, and rain in South West England and Wales until 9am.

Further amber and yellow weather warnings for wind and rain have also been issued across tomorrow and Sunday.

Some 34 flood alerts were imposed for England, along with eight in Wales and three in Scotland. There was also one flood warning in Britford, Salisbury.

In Ireland several trees which have been part of a Galway community for more than 60 years have been uprooted or split in half because of ‘crazy’ winds caused by the storm.

Cathriona Heffernan, 25, from Galway city, described the strong winds as ‘scary’ after she captured a video of fallen trees, which she said has been part of the community for more than six decades.

The sports scientist said: ‘(I) got woken up before the red alert even started, the winds were crazy.

‘Those trees have been there 60 years and outdate the houses even. It’s sad seeing them down all the same but just glad no damage was caused by them.’

She said she saw five fallen trees, which left large holes in the ground from where they were uprooted by the strong winds.

‘One of them split right in half so it’s scary to think just how strong the wind was to be able to do that.’

Mobile phone operator Three warned that customers could experience service issues due to the storm today – following another issue yesterday.

The firm said: ‘Following an issue affecting voice calls yesterday, services have almost returned to normal overnight. Our monitoring has picked up an issue with calls connected via WiFI which we’re investigating urgently.

‘Today, we also expect to see an additional impact on our service due to Storm Éowyn in some areas. We’ve deployed extra engineering resources and planning for these areas, so we can bring sites that are impacted back online as soon as it’s safe to do so.’

Three also said that it was investigating a ‘small number of reports’ of 999 calls failing to connect, adding: ‘We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience caused by the issues on our voice network.’

Some 20,000 Scottish Power customers across the centre and south of the country are without electricity due to the Storm.

The energy provider said fallen trees and debris affected power lines across the region.

Several repair teams were mobilised across the area in order to restore power.

Scottish Power staff have braved high winds in order to undertake the repairs, and the company says it has contacted around 75,000 customers to inform them of a number of warm hubs for those without electricity.

The company has also arranged food vans and has offered hotels to customers in urgent need.

The Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) said today that 2,621 customers are currently without power across the country – a number it said is likely to increase throughout the day.

As of 10am, SSEN says power has been restored to 6,568 customers who were also previously without electricity. SSEN has at least ten times the usual number of people working in response to Storm Eowyn.

Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said this morning: ‘Storm Eowyn is now bringing very strong winds to parts of the UK. 

‘There is potential for gusts of 100mph in exposed locations within the Red warning area. Anyone in these red and amber warning areas should listen to advice from local responders and keep up to date with weather warnings for their area.’

A gust of 100mph was recorded at Drumalbnin in South Lanarkshire this afternoon – the strongest gust so far today in the UK, the Met Office said.

Elsewhere, wind speeds have reached 96mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland; 93mph at Aberdaron in Gwynedd, North Wales; 92mph at Killowen, County Down in Northern Ireland; 87mph at Capel Curig in Conwy, north Wales; 86mph at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, north Wales; 86mph at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland; 85mph at Thomastown in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; and 85mph at Orlock Head in County Down, also in Northern Ireland.

The strongest gust ever recorded in the UK is 142 mph, at Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire in eastern Scotland, on February 13, 1989.

Eowyn was so severe that it knocked some weather stations in western Ireland offline, meaning the full extent of powerful winds today is not yet known.

Despite the extreme gusts, thousands of wind turbines were switched off during the storm because the power would overwhelm the UK’s electricity grid, according to The Telegraph. 

BBC weather presenter Judith Ralston described the storm as a ‘once in a generation’ event. The corporation’s weather service had previously warned that Eowyn would be the ‘storm of the century’ for Ireland.

Satellite imagery suggests a dangerous weather phenomenon known as a sting jet developed over Ireland on Friday morning, the Met Office has said.

A sting jet is a small area of very intense winds, which can be as strong as 100mph or more, according to the weather service.

In a sting jet, the strongest winds usually last between three to four hours across an area as small as 30 miles, the forecaster said.

The so-called Great Storm in October 1987, which claimed 18 lives, is an example of a sting jet forming, according to the weather service’s website.

Looking ahead, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Mark Sidaway said: ‘While the worst of the winds from Storm Éowyn will ease later on Friday, Scotland will continue to see gusty winds through Saturday as the low pressure clears to the northeast. 

‘After a brief calmer spell, another area of low pressure will bring further strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday.

‘The strongest winds will be focused in western parts, while the wettest conditions will likely be across Wales, central and southern England. 

‘This low pressure will not be as powerful as Storm Éowyn but it could hamper the recovery efforts of responders in some of the impacted areas from Friday’s storm. 

‘Warnings could be updated through the weekend and into next week, so keep up to date with the forecast.’

As for today, National Highways said the A66 between the A1M in North Yorkshire and M6 in Cumbria, as well as the A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, were both closed overnight due to strong winds.

Further south, the M48 Severn Bridge was closed due to strong winds, while the Tamar Bridge on the A38 between Devon and Cornwall was closed to high-sided vehicles.

Avon and Somerset reported a number of local roads had been blocked due to fallen trees, advising motorists to ‘take care when travelling’.

In Wales, Gwent Police confirmed emergency services were working to manage surface flooding on the B4598 Raglan Toward Abergavenny.

The Tay Bridge linking Fife to Dundee was closed to all vehicles, Police Scotland said. 

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister has urged Scots in the central belt to follow the advice not to travel.

Appearing on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Kate Forbes said: ‘It is so important that people follow Police Scotland’s advice not to travel because if people stay at home and don’t travel then it means they don’t invite that risk to themselves.’

Ms Forbes also warned that recovery from Storm Eowyn could ‘take longer than we all hope’.

‘It is important our expectations are managed by how quickly things can return to normal and there may well be continuing disruption tomorrow,’ she said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland described the storm as an ‘exceptional weather event’ and said it was expected to bring the strongest winds seen in the country since 1998.

Some 240,000 homes and businesses were without power in Northern Ireland this morning, NIE Networks has said.

The provider said the storm was causing ‘widespread damage’ to the electricity network.

It warned that restoration efforts will take significant time as crews cannot begin work until it is safe to do so.

A statement said: ‘We anticipate we will begin assessing the damage to the network after 2pm once the red weather warning has been lifted.’

Stormont deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly urged people to stay at home. 

‘The strong advice is to stay home,’ she told BBC Radio Ulster.

‘And that’s important, of course, because if people go out, the risk to life is from debris because of the high winds, if people go out and get into a situation, then that is calling out those essential workers that are there. 

‘We don’t want people to have to come out to deal with those. So we are advising everybody stays at home. There’s a significant outage on the electricity.’

Ms Little-Pengelly said it was a ‘very serious storm’.

‘The storm will blow over,’ she said. ‘The worst of it is here at the moment and over the next number of hours. But, of course, we will get through that.’

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has warned there is a ‘genuine threat to life and property’, describing the region as currently being ‘in the eye of the storm’.

Ms O’Neill told BBC Radio Ulster: ‘We’re asking the public to be very safe, to be very cautious, to take every precaution to ensure that they don’t take any unnecessary travel, please just stay at home if you can.

‘We’re in the eye of the storm now. We are in the period of the red alert.

‘People can see for themselves, the wind has been very much picking up overnight. We’ve just been briefed by the Civil Contingencies Group, by the PSNI who are in the lead in terms of the storm response and they tell us that the situation is, as we have outlined yesterday, we’re still in a period of jeopardy in terms of the damage that potentially could be caused as a result of the storm.

‘I think the real message we want to get across to your listeners this morning is to please be ultra cautious, to please stay at home if you can and we will see how the storm will rage but the scale of the storm, the level of wind that we’ve experienced across the island, which is something that’s never been seen before. 

‘The threat is real, and we only can emphasise to people, please take every precaution that you absolutely can.’

RAC Breakdown advised motorists in warnings areas to stay safe by parking away from trees, keep a firm grip on the steering wheel, avoid coastal routes and watch out for debris.

Some 4.5million people received emergency alerts on their phones warning of the incoming storm in the ‘largest real life use of the tool to date’ yesterday.

In Ireland, a wind speed of 114mph (183kmh) brought by the storm has been recorded – the fastest since records began, Irish forecaster Met Eireann said.

Residents across Ireland have been urged to stay at home as the entire island braces for the arrival of the storm.

The top-level red warning for wind is in place in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from early this morning.

Schools and colleges across Ireland are set to close and public transport come to a halt amid powerful gusts, with warnings of danger to life, fallen electric lines, damaged infrastructure and widespread power outages.

Met Eireann reported that a gust of 114mph had been recorded at Mace Head, Co Galway, at 5am, just above the previous record high of 113mph (182kmh) set in January 1945 in Foynes, Co Limerick.

It also reported the mean wind speed record of 81mph (131kmh) set in 1945 in Foynes has been broken during the storm, with up to 84mph (135kmh) at Mace Head at 4am.

A multimillion-euro indoor playing facility in County Mayo was blown down during the storm.

Connacht GAA’s Air Dome was destroyed as winds ripped through the facility in Bekan, near Ballyhaunis.

The NUI Galway dome, which opened in 2020, hosted indoor games for all levels and ages during all weather conditions.

In a statement, Connacht GAA said: ‘Unfortunately, the University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome was significantly damaged by Storm Eowyn overnight, thankfully no-one was hurt.

‘Thanks to everyone for the support, it is our full intention to rebuild this magnificent facility as soon as possible.’

The storm has caused extensive and widespread damage to the electricity network, with power outages affecting 715,000 homes, farms and businesses in the Republic of Ireland.

The Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said there had been ‘unprecedented, widespread and extensive’ damage to electricity infrastructure nationwide.

ESB said it would take a ‘significant number of days’ to restore power to all affected customers.

Irish premier Micheal Martin described it as an ‘historic storm’.

He wrote on social media: ‘I urge everyone to stay safe and stay home as the impact of Storm Eowyn is felt right across Ireland. This is a historic storm.

‘The National Emergency Co-ordination Group is meeting shortly with a national effort involving ESB, Defence Forces, Civil Defence and Irish Water to restore power, water and get help to those who need it, once safe. Please take care.’

Deputy premier Simon Harris said: ‘Ireland has experienced the highest winds ever recorded and our power outages are widespread. Continue to heed the red warning and do not travel. The sea and shoreline are extremely dangerous.’

Approximately 150,000 premises in Ireland are at risk of water supply issues due to power outages affecting the water network. Irish Water said the majority of these customers should still have water due to storage in reservoirs.

The agency said significant disruption is expected due to the storm, adding that its crews will begin restoring supply when it is safe to do so.

In a statement, it added: ‘In areas where supply has been disrupted, most properties should have adequate storage in their attic tanks for hygiene purposes for at least 24 hours.

‘However customers are urged to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved.’

Police in Northern Ireland have declared a major incident and said they expect the strongest winds in the region since the Boxing Day storm in 1998 which caused widespread disruption.

The chairman of Ireland’s National Emergency Co-ordination Group, Keith Leonard, said Storm Eowyn will be one of the most severe storms Ireland has seen.

‘It is going to be a damaging, dangerous and destructive weather event,’ he said in Dublin today.

‘The forecasted winds will bring severe conditions which will constitute a risk to life and property.

‘Our most important message today is that everybody needs to shelter in place for the duration of all red warnings.

‘We are likely to see significant and widespread power outages, so I would encourage everyone to prepare ahead. Make sure phones, torches and laptops are fully charged.’

The coastal town of Donaghadee in Co Down was among those making preparations last night.

Some businesses placed sandbags at their doors, while others displayed signs to say they would be closed until after the red level alert expires this afternoon.