Following fierce cold and snow in the U.S., Storm Eowyn brings record high winds to Ireland

The same weather pattern that dropped record snow in the southern United States and brought cold to much of the rest of the country continued its progress east, producing extreme winds in Ireland and the United Kingdom on Thursday and Friday.

The storm was named Eowyn by the UK Met Office as forecasters anticipated devastatingly high winds and flooding in the region. The Irish meteorological service Met Eireann and the UK Met Office jointly issued red weather warnings for the entire island of Ireland on Thursday, the highest level of warning given ahead of dangerous weather.

Winds from Eowyn were bolstered by a strong jet stream created by a sharp temperature difference between arctic air over the United States and warmer ocean waters. After forecasters had warned of 100+ mph winds in the area, a 114 mph gust was recorded in western Ireland at Mace Head, County Galway, an all-time record for the island.

A third of Ireland was left without power and one in five flights in the UK were cancelled on Friday, according to the BBC. Britain experienced a storm of similar strength in December, also driven by a strong jet stream, but Eowyn is the most severe storm to hit Ireland since 2017.

The system will dissipate as it heads into the Norwegian Sea over the weekend. Ireland and the United Kingdom will be bracing for another storm that will bring similar hazards early next week.