Storm Éowyn: Nationwide red wind warning after National Emergency Group meets

By Cillian Sherlock, PA and Eva Osborne

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group has met and a nationwide red level weather warning has been given as Storm Éowyn approaches.

The storm is forecast to bring very dangerous and destructive winds on Thursday night and Friday.

The National Emergency Co-ordination Group warned the storm will be a "multi-hazard, dangerous and destructive storm", with Met Éireann saying there is a "danger to life".

There is a red warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Waterford from 2am until 10am o0n Friday.

Clare and Galway are under a red warning from 3am until 12pm on Friday.

Leitrim, Mayo, and Sligo will be under a red warning from 4am until 12pm on Friday.

There is a red wind warning for Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Roscommon, and Tipperary from 6am until 12pm on Friday.

Donegal will be under a red wind warning from 6am until 3pm on Friday.

Met Éireann said there will be a danger to life and extremely dangerous travelling conditions in those counties on Friday morning.

The rest of the Republic will be under an orange-level wind warning from 2am until 5pm on Friday.

The weather agency said: “Gale force southerly winds becoming westerly will bring severe, damaging and destructive winds with gusts of up to 130km/h widely, with even higher gusts for a time.”

The expected impacts include fallen trees, damage to power lines and power outages, structural damage, very difficult travelling conditions, disruption and cancellations to transport, and wave overtopping.

There are also warnings in place for all coasts off the island of Ireland and the Irish sea.

A status-yellow gale warning applies between 9pm Thursday and 2am on Friday, immediately followed by a status-orange storm warning until 5pm.

The latter warning comes with the expectation that south-west winds veering westerly will reach Storm Force 10 on all coastal waters and the Irish sea.

Met Éireann said: “Storm Éowyn will bring powerful and disruptive winds over Ireland on Thursday night and during Friday along with some transient snowfall in the north west.

It will start to become “very stormy” on Thursday night, before the centre of Storm Éowyn tracks just off the north-west coast on Friday morning.

Met Éireann said this will be followed by a “swathe of extremely strong and damaging winds extending across the country bringing disruption”.