Around a million homes left without power at storm peak

Storm Éowyn, the fifth storm of the 2024/2025 season, hit the UK in late January 2025. Around a million homes were reported to be without power at the peak of the storm as trees and strong winds brought down power lines, with several thousand remaining without power in Scotland and Northern Ireland for a number of days¹.

The Met Office issued a red warning for wind, meaning danger to life, covering Northern Ireland, Scotland's Central Belt and much of south-west Scotland, with a wider amber warning area covering the northern half of the UK¹. In the red warning area, members of the public were advised to stay at home and all schools were closed¹. The highest wind gust in the UK was 87Kt (100mph) at Drumalbin, Lanarkshire, and around 20 further stations recorded 70Kt (81mph) or more across Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland, northern England and North Wales¹. The lowest pressure recorded was 941.9hPa on the Isle of Tiree, Inner Hebrides, the UK's lowest value since 936.8hPa at Stornoway Airport on 24 December 2013¹.

The Met Office describes the storm as the UK's most powerful wind storm for over a decade, and for Northern Ireland the most significant since the Boxing Day Storm of 26 December 1998¹. In Scotland, one fatality was reported in Ayrshire as a result of a falling tree, and a fatality was also reported in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland¹. Trunk roads were closed, all rail services were halted in Scotland and the West and East Coast Main Lines closed, with over 1000 flights reported cancelled¹. ScotRail reported extensive damage to its network including overhead lines¹.

Rainfall figures cover 23 to 24 January, mostly from storm Éowyn¹.

Why it matters for households

The households most affected were in Northern Ireland, Scotland's Central Belt and south-west Scotland, where the red warning applied and where the Met Office reports the strongest winds occurred¹. For those areas, loss of supply was widespread at the height of the storm, and for several thousand homes in Scotland and Northern Ireland it continued for a number of days¹. The Met Office advises that in a red warning area members of the public should stay at home, and reports that schools were closed on this occasion¹. The power cuts guide sets out how a loss of supply unfolds, and what to do when the electricity goes off covers the first hours. For households in Northern Ireland, NIE Networks, reporting and help explains who to contact. The Met Office notes that storms of the severity of Éowyn are to be expected as part of the UK's climate on a reasonably regular basis¹.

What happens next

The Met Office assessment, last updated on 30 January 2025, records the storm's impacts and weather data; no further dated steps are set out in it¹.