Storm Eowyn ‘probably the strongest to hit the UK in at least 10 years’

Storm Eowyn has been “pretty exceptional” and was “probably the strongest storm” to hit the UK in at least 10 years, the Met Office has said.

It was the most intense in “more like 20 or 30 years” for some parts of the country, forecasters added.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner held talks on Saturday with other Government members and First Ministers of Northern Ireland and Scotland, at an emergency Cobra meeting on the storm.

A Government spokesperson said: “Ministers discussed the ongoing response to Storm Eowyn, particularly the urgent work under way to reconnect homes which have lost power.

“To support recovery, engineers have been dispatched to Northern Ireland and Scotland, and ministers thanked all frontline workers for their efforts to keep communities safe.

“We continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to provide further support, working closely with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive.”

Earlier that day, Stormont Economy Minister Conor Murphy said 52 engineers from England were scheduled to arrive on Saturday, with 30 to be utilised by NIE (Northern Ireland Electricity) Networks and 22 to assist ESB Networks in the Irish Republic.

First Minister John Swinney asked for “patience” while the work to restore services affected by the storm was carried out, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband extended sympathy to those impacted, including people who have lost power, and said the Government will “work closely with our partners until everyone affected has their power restored.”

Spanish-named Storm Herminia is forecast to follow on from Eowyn on Sunday but it will be focussed in the South West.

It will not be as powerful as Eowyn, but there is a “greater risk” of damage for a storm of its size as it may move across already-damaged infrastructure, a Sky News meteorologist said.

Parts of Ireland saw the highest windspeeds since records began after they reached 114mph in Mace Head, Co Galway, on Friday.

A gust of 100mph was recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire in Scotland that day.

Kacper Dudek, 20, died after a tree fell on his car at Feddyglass, Raphoe in Co Donegal, early on Friday and Irish police are investigating the incident.

More than a million people in the UK were without power, and there was significant travel disruption across the UK and Ireland.

Celtic’s Scottish Premiership match against Dundee on Saturday was called off because of storm damage to the club’s Glasgow stadium.

Network Rail Scotland said more than 400 “incidents of damage” have been found following the storm.

Signalling systems, overhead wires, stations, boundary fencing, level crossings and train depots were damaged, it added.

“Numerous fallen trees (were) reported on all routes” as well as other debris including a roof found on the tracks in Glasgow.

Sunday brings a new set of weather warnings as Storm Herminia approaches.

Sky News meteorologist Dr Chris England said: “The Spanish-named Storm Herminia will bring heavy rain, gales and hill snow up from the South West tomorrow and on Monday”.

South-east, south-west and north-west England, as well as Wales and south-western parts of Scotland, have a yellow wind warning in place from 8am to 3pm on Sunday.

Gusts of 50mph to 60mph are expected widely and they could reach 70mph on exposed coasts and hills, the Met Office said.

The east, south-east and south-west of England and Wales are also covered by a yellow weather warning for “strong and gusty winds” between Monday at 6am and the same time on Tuesday.

Gusts near the coast could again near 70mph.

A yellow warning for heavy rain is in place from 8am on Sunday to 6am on Monday, bringing a chance of local flooding for parts of the UK.

This spans most of central and southern England and much of Wales.

The Met Office warned 10 to 20mm of rain will fall, nearing 30 to 50mm on high ground.

A further heavy spell on Sunday evening could bring as much as 80mm.

“Given recent heavy rain, this extra rainfall could lead to some local surface water and river flooding”, the Met Office said.

Another yellow warning for heavy rain is in place from 6am and 11.59pm on Monday for the West Midlands and most of Wales.

Police Scotland said it responded to nearly 1,900 weather-related incidents linked to Storm Eowyn on Friday.

Some of ScotRail’s routes have resumed after it suspended all of its services across Scotland.

More than 42,000 customers in Scotland remain without electricity.

As of 4pm on Saturday, about 28,000 Scottish Power customers were without power and, as of 4.30pm, about 14,500 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers.

SSEN said it had restored power to about 75,300 customers, and Scottish Power to about 192,000, all of whom had been cut off because of the storm.

Scottish Power has taken 52,000 calls since Storm Eowyn hit – a month’s worth each day.

Storm damage means it could take “several days” to restore power, it said.

In Northern Ireland 189,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Saturday, NIE Networks said. It had been restored for 96,000 customers, it added.