Further weather warnings issued as 402,000 remain without power after Storm Éowyn
At around 12;30am on Friday a tree fell on the roof of the home of Angela Ducey at Killavullen, Co Cork following strong winds and gusts overnight during Storm Éowyn. Picture: Larry Cummins
Met Éireann has issued a trio of yellow weather warnings affecting much of the country for Sunday into Monday, as some 460,000 homes and businesses remain without power in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn.
The fifth named storm of the 2024/2025 season saw a host of weather warnings in place on Friday, and record-breaking gusts of up to 183km/h recorded in Galway.
Éowyn also saw widespread damage to done to buildings and structures, power outages, and service disruptions, and several roads remained impassable on Saturday morning as a result of fallen trees and debris dislocated by the status-red storm.
As the post-storm cleanup operation continues, you can follow live updates here:
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As of 5pm, ESB have said approximately 402,000 homes, farms and businesses remain without power. Teams have restored power to 366,000 customers since Friday afternoon.
A spokesperson said ESB said power restoration will continue late into the evening and will commence once again at first light on Sunday morning.
"We expect to make good progress restoring supplies over the weekend and into next week, wind conditions permitting," the spokesperson said.
"The restoration time required for the storm response remains dynamic given the widespread and extensive damage to the network.
"Having restored power to 366,000 customers, we expect to restore power to a further 300,000 by Friday night, 31st January.
"For the remaining customers, these will progressively have power restored over the course of the following week. This will remain dynamic and weather conditions may impact on the restoration work," the spokesperson added.
Uisce Éireann has said that some 120,000 people across the country are still without water.
The worst affected areas are in the northwest of the country, particularly the Galway / Mayo area.
Uisce Éireann crews continue to monitor the impact of Storm Éowyn on water supplies across the country.
There has been disruption to supply due to widespread power outages impacting water and wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and other network assets.
Incident management processes have been set up and crews are working to restore supplies.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ComReg said a total of 40 per cent of all phone users in Ireland have been affected by outages caused by Storm Éowyn.
Operators have indicated the most impacted areas are Galway, Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon, Clare, Meath, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Laois, Sligo and Westmeath.
In Dublin, the City Council have said that all its services have now reopened following the storm.
The outdoor workforce spent the day as well clearing trees from 152 locations across the city.
"In line with public safety messages, our services were closed yesterday and where appropriate, staff were instructed to work from home," a spokesperson said.
"Following a number of assessments carried out earlier today, the decision was made that it was now safe to return to normal opening hours," they added.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) met once again this afternoon to coordinate support efforts to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses affected by electricity and water supply disruptions.
Chair of the NECG Keith Leonard said that though the recovery stage is now well underway, the damage caused by Storm Éowyn "will still present hazards".
He urged the public to heed advice from the ESB and never approach fallen power lines and report their location to the ESB.
Mr Leonard said Defence Forces personnel and several state agencies, including the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte, are now providing "manpower, resources and assistance to clear obstructions and to help ESB Networks to restore connection to those still without power".
"There will continue to be significant impacts to services across all sectors in the coming days due the severity of the impact to the power distribution network, but every effort is being made to restore power and services as fast as humanly possible.”
Approximately 120,000 homes, businesses, and farms across the country still have no water this lunchtime following Storm Éowyn.
Uisce Éireann says that an additional 150,000 premises are now being supplied by schemes where generators have been deployed. The utility also says that supplies for a further 275,000 people are at risk in areas where power is yet to be restored.
The majority of the outages are located in the Northwest and in counties Kerry, Clare, Tipperary, Cavan, Monaghan, Longford and Laois.
As of 12.15pm, the ESB says 460,000 homes and businesses across the country were still without power, down from a peak of 768,000 on Friday afternoon.
The HSE says its teams working with other agencies over the weekend to return to normal in the wake of Storm Éowyn.
A spokesperson said any details on further health disruptions would be posted on the HS website
"Emergency departments and injury units are operating as usual," the spokesperson said.
"Only go to an emergency department for serious illnesses and injuries, including life-threatening emergencies.
The young man killed by a falling tree in Donegal on Friday has been named locally as Kacper Dudek.
The 20-year-old was fatally injured when a tree struck the vehicle he was driving at around 5am at Feddyglass in Raphoe.
His body was later removed from the scene to the mortuary in Letterkenny University Hospital, where an autopsy will take place in due course.
Gardaí say N14 remains closed and local diversions are in place.
Garda Forensic Collision Investigators are conducting a full examination of the scene this morning.
An Post says it will be making national deliveries today, subject to local road conditions and power supplies.
In a statement, it said that, where possible, post offices are open for business as normal from 9am until 1pm.
Some post offices, particularly in the west and midlands, are awaiting power reconnection but will open later, if possible.
All social welfare benefit payments usually payable at the post office on Friday will be available today Saturday and next week, An Post said.
Met Éireann has issued a trio of yellow weather warnings for Sunday.
The first, a rain warning affecting Cork, Kerry, Tipperary Waterford, Wicklow, Carlow, and Kilkenny will be in place from 5am until 5pm. During this time, Met Éireann is warning of "heavy downpours of rain" which may also cause some spot flooding.
⚠️The following status yellow wind & rain warnings have been issued.⚠️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 25, 2025
These warnings commence tomorrow, Sunday 26/01/25, at varied times.
Please see the effected counties and validity times below.
To stay updated, please visit: https://t.co/3041XHjphi pic.twitter.com/SRuZnthAmS
From 6am tomorrow, a status yellow wind warning for all of Munster, Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Galway, Mayo, and Sligo will also be in effect with "strong and gusty winds" likely to cause further damage to structures and trees already weakened by Storm Éowyn. That warning remains in place until 6pm on Sunday.
Finally, from 11pm on Sunday night until 6am on Monday, Cork, Kerry, and Waterford will be under another yellow wind warning with high winds and travel disruption again likely.
Speaking on Saturday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to the emergency crews currently working to assist those impacted by the storm.
Mr Martin said the post-storm cleanup is "a whole of Government effort" involving the ESB, EirGrid, Irish Water, Local Authorities, the Defence Forces, Civil Defence, the NPWS, Coillte and others.
"I’ve been briefed by the Chair of the National Emergency Coordination Group, which will meet again today, and every effort is being made to get high voltage transmission lines up and running, homes reconnected and water supplies secured," he added.
"My Government will fully assess the situation in the coming days to see what supports we can offer people and businesses caught up in the aftermath of this storm."
The ESB has warned that, while its crews resumed repair works at first light on Saturday, homes and businesses affected by power outages may have to wait several days for their service to be restored.
At present, around 528,000 homes are without power, down from about 540,000 overnight.
Some 250,000 homes and businesses are also still without electricity in Northern Ireland.
Uisce Éireann has said that around 217,000 homes and businesses were without water as of 6.30am this morning, with approximately 300,000 others at risk of supply outages. The majority of premises affected are in Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny, and Laois.
Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann Margaret Attridge said the "unprecedented storm event" has had "a severe impact on our water and wastewater network nationwide".
"We are still assessing the full extent of the disruption to supplies. Our crews will work around the clock where it is safe to do so to restore water service as quickly as possible, but given the extent of the damage, it may take some time before full service is restored everywhere," she said.
"We ask for the public’s continued patience during this challenging time.” Ms Attridge also urged customers to conserve water.
"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," she added.
"There are some simple steps people can take to conserve their water, such as avoiding the use of water-intensive appliances during this time."
More generally, Saturday will be quite cold to start, with some frost and icy patches, along with some scattered wintry showers in the north and west.
By this afternoon, sunnier spells will develop, but it will turn cloudier for a time as showery rain tracks eastwards across the country through the afternoon and early evening.
By the late evening, there may even be some falls of sleet and hail. The forecaster says there is also a risk of "isolated thunderstorms". Temperatures on Saturday are unlikely to hit double-digits, with the mercury hovering between 4C and 8C.
Frost & icy patches this morning & scattered wintry showers in the north & west🥶🌦️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 25, 2025
Showery rain will track eastwards this afternoon & evening as southerly winds increase moderate to fresh & gusty🌦️🌬️
Further showers will follow
Falls of sleet, hail & isolated thunderstorms⛈️ pic.twitter.com/LWmVxKwOL7
Tonight will be quite coldand dry for many with clear spells and some further wintry showers. The lowest temperatures will range from -3 to 1C. Once again, there will be widespread frost and ice overnight.
According to Met Éireann, Sunday is set to be a "wet and windy" day overall "with strong to near gale force southeasterly winds developing in the morning, and gale force winds along exposed coasts".
It says rain in the southwest will extend northeastwards through the morning and afternoon, with localised flooding possible, especially in the southern half of the country.
This rain will clear northwards by the evening, giving way to some sunny spells and scattered showers. As with this evening, there is again a chance of thunderstorms on Sunday evening. The highest temperatures tomorrow will range from 6C to 10C.
Sunday night will see further scattered showers, merging to longer spells of rain at times, with the south and west likely to see the worst of the rain.
Temperatures tomorrow night will fall back to around 2C to 6C in mostly moderate to fresh southerly winds, stronger in the southwest and west.
Check out the Irish Examiner's WEATHER CENTRE for regularly updated short and long range forecasts wherever you are.
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