Storm Éowyn: ‘Bomb’ cyclone approaches Ireland and parts of UK as schools and public transport shut

CNN — The United Kingdom and Ireland are bracing for what could be one of the most severe storms seen in years, with authorities shutting schools and warning residents to stay in. “We reserve the issuing of red warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption, and that is the case with Storm Éowyn,” the Met Office’s Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: Keith Leonard, the chair of Ireland’s National Emergency Coordination Group, said in a statement that “Storm Éowyn is going to be a very dangerous and destructive weather event.” All schools in both Ireland and Northern Ireland will be closed on Friday, according to the the Irish Department of Education and the Northern Irish Education Authority. CNN Weather Nicholas Leach, a postdoctoral weather and climate researcher at Oxford University, told the non-profit Science Media Centre that Éowyn was “likely to cause potentially severe damage,” which he said could include flying debris and fallen trees causing “extremely dangerous driving conditions.” Along with the wind, Éowyn is expected to bring rain and snow to parts of the UK. Ambrogio Volonté, a senior research fellow at the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology, said Storm Éowyn could “rival the ferocity” of Storm Eunice in 2022 and Storm Ciarán in 2023, “both of which sadly claimed lives and left behind severe damage.” Éowyn is expected to move away from the UK on Saturday, although yellow wind warnings are in place in the north of the country for Saturday morning and early afternoon. Leach said Éowyn is an extratropical “bomb” cyclone that has formed in the North Atlantic and “intensified extremely rapidly.” He said bomb cyclones are typically the most impactful winter storms in Northern Europe.