The United Kingdom and Ireland are bracing for what could be one of the most severe storms seen in years, with authorities shutting schools and warning residents to stay in. <\/p>\n
Storm \u00c9owyn, an extratropical \u201cbomb\u201d cyclone that has formed in the North Atlantic and intensified rapidly, is expected to bring gusty winds, heavy rain and some snow to the region. <\/p>\n
Met \u00c9ireann, the Irish Meteorological Service, has issued red warnings, its highest alert level, for wind for much of the country beginning early Friday, saying that wind gusts could exceed 80 miles per hour. <\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s Meteorological Office, or Met Office, has also placed parts of Northern Ireland under red wind warnings for early Friday for the first time since 2011. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe reserve the issuing of red warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption, and that is the case with Storm \u00c9owyn,\u201d the Met Office\u2019s Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: <\/p>\n
Keith Leonard, the chair of Ireland\u2019s National Emergency Coordination Group, said in a statement that \u201cStorm \u00c9owyn is going to be a very dangerous and destructive weather event.\u201d <\/p>\n
All schools in both Ireland and Northern Ireland will be closed on Friday, according to the the Irish Department of Education and the Northern Irish Education Authority. Public transport will not be running in Ireland, according to the authorities. <\/p>\n
Nicholas Leach, a postdoctoral weather and climate researcher at Oxford University, told the non-profit Science Media Centre that \u00c9owyn was \u201clikely to cause potentially severe damage,\u201d which he said could include flying debris and fallen trees causing \u201cextremely dangerous driving conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n
Along with the wind, \u00c9owyn (pronounced \u201cAy-oh-win\u201d) is expected to bring rain and snow to parts of the UK. A yellow snowfall warning is in place for parts of northern England and southern Scotland. Across Scotland\u2019s central belt, snowfall could reach somewhere between six to ten inches, according to the Met Office. <\/p>\n
Ambrogio Volont\u00e9, a senior research fellow at the University of Reading\u2019s Department of Meteorology, said Storm \u00c9owyn could \u201crival the ferocity\u201d of Storm Eunice in 2022 and Storm Ciar\u00e1n in 2023, \u201cboth of which sadly claimed lives and left behind severe damage.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u00c9owyn is expected to move away from the UK on Saturday, although yellow wind warnings are in place in the north of the country for Saturday morning and early afternoon. <\/p>\n
Leach said \u00c9owyn is an extratropical \u201cbomb\u201d cyclone that has formed in the North Atlantic and \u201cintensified extremely rapidly.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said bomb cyclones are typically the most impactful winter storms in Northern Europe. <\/p>\n
While Leach said that the impacts of the climate crisis on extratropical cyclones remain uncertain, some studies suggest the strongest storms, like \u00c9owyn is expected to be, may be getting stronger with climate change. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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