Met Office
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A look back on Storm Éowyn
A week on from Storm Éowyn, we look back at the storm, its impacts and how the forecast developed.
Storm Éowyn was the UK’s most powerful windstorm for over a decade, bringing red warnings, severe impacts and, tragically, fatalities.
According to Met Office analysis of the storm, it was also the most significant windstorm for Northern Ireland since the Boxing Day Storm of 1998.
A 100mph gust was recorded at Drumalbin, while 15 UK stations with more than ten years of history recorded their own respective highest January wind gust. Roads were closed, thousands were without power, ferries and trains were cancelled and sadly lives were lost as impacts were felt for many as part of the multi-hazard event, with strong winds, rain and snow for some.
How the forecast developed
The Met Office’s YouTube forecast Ten Day Trend on 15 January first highlighted the possibility of wet and windy weather in the second half of the week commencing 20 January, which obviously came to pass.
As is usually the case, forecast confidence increased closer to the time, which resulted in further Met Office communications, the naming of the system and ultimately a plethora of warnings, including red warnings.
The first warnings for the system were issued on 20 January, before it had even formed as a distinct system out in the Atlantic. As confidence of impacts increased, Storm Éowyn was given its name on 21 January, still before the system had formed, but modelling suggested an impactful and damaging period of weather on the way.
Senior Presenter and Meteorologist, Alex Deakin, recently said:
“Thanks to developments and innovation in forecasting, we can now fairly regularly predict these impactful weather systems before they even form, thousands of miles away from the UK. While the atmosphere is inherently chaotic in nature, our complex forecasting models that we have been developing for decades are now so advanced we're able to communicate incoming impactful weather well in advance, helping people, businesses and responders prepare and stay safe."
While developing under the influence of a powerful jet stream, the system underwent a process referred to as ‘explosive cyclogenesis’, which is when the pressure of the storm rapidly deepens over a 24-hour period.
Click here for the full press release
Original article link: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/a-look-back-on-storm-eowyn