Environment

Storm Ewan proves weaker than forecast as warnings withdrawn

Names of next two storms already chosen by Met Éireann and UK Met Office

High waves from Storm Ewan crash over the Wooden Bridge at Dollymount, Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times

Mon Feb 27 2017 - 13:57

Storm Ewan turned out to be much weaker than expected in Ireland with warnings for snow and wind across parts of Britain withdrawn as a result.

The UK Met Office had warnings in place for heavy rain and high winds in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of north-west Wales and England, after predicting a low pressure system would move across the country on Monday and Tuesday.

However, after Storm Ewan’s impact was less than expected, those warnings have been removed.

A status orange wind warning in Ireland had anticipated gusts of up to 120km/h over the course of Sunday, but the strongest recorded was 90km/h at midday in Dublin.

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Some flash flooding did occur in Clare and Galway with trees felled in Kildare, Dundalk and Cork, but conditions were nowhere near as disruptive as was the case during Storm Doris which knocked as many as 56,000 homes off the power grid on Thursday.

A number of sporting events fell victim to the inclement weather over the weekend, most notably the Allianz National Football League fixture between Tyrone and Cavan in Omagh.

Worst over

Liz Walsh, forecaster at Met Éireann, said the worst was over by 3pm on Sunday, with the highest gust recorded at around 90km/h.

She said: “To be honest, he didn’t end up being as strong as we forecast.”

In the UK however, yellow warnings for ice are in place across much of region telling motorists to “be aware” of poor driving conditions on Monday and Tuesday.

Forecasters named Ewan when a “developing wave” of wind looked as though it could turn into a low pressure system.

In the end, Ewan formed no such system — the extent of the damage was from high winds on the south coast.

The storm was named Ewan as is protocol when amber weather warnings are put in place.

It comes after Storm Doris caused travel disruption, damaged buildings and sent debris flying.

Tahnie Martin (29) who worked at the University of Wolverhampton in England, was killed in Wolverhampton city centre after being struck by flying debris.

Storms with the potential to cause a substantial impact are named by the Met Office and Met Éireann, moving through the alphabet.

The first was named Abigail in November 2015, after members of the public suggested monikers for the “name our storms” project.

Forecasters are now in their second run through the alphabet.

After Ewan, Fleur and Gabriel are next on the list.

PA

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