Storm Eowyn: Ireland and the UK battered with record winds

One person died in Donegal died as gusts of 183kph were recorded early in the morning near the coast

An abandoned car, surrounded by fallen trees, after Storm Eowyn, in Larbert, Scotland. AP

Workers clear debris from a roof blown off a leisure centre during storm Eowyn in Helensburgh, Scotland. Getty Images

The remains of an ice skating rink destroyed by strong winds in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland, as Storm Eowyn hit. AP

Workers remove a fallen tree in Edinburgh, Scotland. AP

Strong winds threaten to blow away an umbrella in Edinburgh. Reuters

A fallen tree blocks a road in Holywood, near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Getty Images

A sign at the entrance to Edinburgh Waverley station, which has been closed due to Storm Eowyn. AP

A tree that was blown down into a garden in east Belfast. PA

Dog walking on a windswept beach at Tynemouth, north-east England. PA

A fallen tree blocks a road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where residents have been urged to stay at home. AP

High winds brought down a telegraph pole in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. PA

Men attend to a fallen tree on Malahide Road in Dublin, Ireland. PA

An advertising display damaged during Storm Eowyn in Finglas, Dublin. PA

Record wind speeds have been recorded in Ireland as Storm Eowyn causes widespread disruption on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The "destructive" winds prompted authorities in Ireland and the UK to issue rare red weather alerts on Friday warning of threats to life. Irish officials urged people to stay indoors.

One person died in County Donegal after a tree fell on his car, police in Ireland said.

Gusts of 183kph were recorded early in the morning near the Galway coast in the west, Ireland's meteorological service Met Eireann said on X. The previous record of 182kph was recorded in 1945, it said.

The winds propelled a transatlantic flight close to the subsonic speed record, as British Airways flight 274 reached a ground speed of 1,310kph, cutting 45 minutes off its scheduled journey from Las Vegas to Heathrow, flight radar records showed. The record for subsonic speed is 1,343kph.

One in five flights from airports in the UK and Ireland were cancelled as the storm caused disruption at several major airports. 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 per cent 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.

Around 560,000 homes and businesses were left without power across Northern Ireland and Ireland as schools were closed and public transport halted during the red warning.

The alert, the highest level, was in place across Ireland for the first time since Storm Ophelia in 2017, which killed three people. It is due to be lifted for most of Ireland today at 11am local time and 2pm in Northern Ireland.

A red warning is also in place for southwestern and central areas of Scotland from 10am until 5pm, the UK Met Office said, warning people to expect flying debris resulting in danger to life, damage to buildings with roofs blown off and the closure of roads and bridges.

National Rail advised people living in Scotland and parts of northern England not to travel on Friday. The country’s environment agency warned of flooding in southern and central England over the coming days.

Scientists say climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is making storms more severe, supercharged by warmer oceans.