Storm Eowyn: All the cancellations and closures
There was widespread disruption to travel and public services across the UK and Ireland on Friday and it is expected to continue into the weekend.
Friday 24 January 2025 18:53, UK
Flights, rail services, sporting fixtures and hospitals were all affected on Friday after Storm Eowyn slammed into the UK, with disruption expected to continue into the weekend.
More than a thousand flights to or from the UK and Ireland on Friday were cancelled, while over a million homes and businesses were left without power as hurricane-force winds battered parts of the country.
In some parts of the country the public was told to only travel if absolutely necessary, while around 4.5 million people in parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland were sent an emergency alert on their mobile phones on Thursday evening.
It was the largest real-life use of the emergency system to date and caused mobile phones to make a loud siren-like sound, even if they were on silent when the alert was issued.
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Meanwhile in Ireland, winds of 114mph were provisionally recorded, the Met Office said, the strongest the country has ever experienced.
Disruption into the weekend
Looking ahead to the weekend, even after the red warnings have passed, transport providers and authorities said that disruption was still expected.
Police Scotland asked people to "continue to avoid" travelling in the dangerous weather into the weekend and ScotRail said that while it would work to reopen lines, customers shouldn't expect any trains to run before midday on Saturday at the earliest.
National Rail said journeys may be affected on Saturday, and asked customers to check before travelling.
Celtic said in a statement the club's stadium was damaged by the storm and they were "unable to confirm at this stage" whether their game against Dundee would go ahead. A final decision is expected to be made on Saturday morning.
The Scottish League One game between Arbroath and Kelty Hearts was postponed due to storm damage at the stadium.
Dublin Airport said flight operations were "moving well" on Friday evening, but Edinburgh Airport said it expected "knock-on" impacts over the next few days, so passengers should check with their airline for the latest flight information.
The Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said further power outages were possible into Saturday. Some properties could be left in the dark for up to a week.
Power
More than a million people across the UK and Ireland were left without power due to Storm Eowyn.
Across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland there were a total of 1,105,000 homes, businesses and farms that experienced power cuts.
The majority of these were in Ireland, at least 725,000 customers according to ESB.
In Northern Ireland, around 280,000 customers didn't have power as the storm battered the region.
NIE Networks said on X that it expected the number of people affected to continue to rise.
The Scottish government said around 100,000 households were without power.
Energy provider Scottish Power said fallen trees and debris had affected power lines across the region.
Health services
• Edinburgh Napier University, Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University were among the sites that closed their campuses to students and staff on Friday, with no access to any buildings
• NHS Lothian cancelled all routine, non-urgent planned procedures on Friday and postponed the majority of hospital outpatient appointments to protect patients and staff
• NHS Lanarkshire also postponed all non-urgent appointments in hospital and community settings
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Rail services
• National Rail advised passengers not to travel across Scotland and "many parts" of northern England on Friday, telling others to check the latest advice before heading out
• It said the storm would affect Avanti West Coast services on Friday
• CrossCountry services would also be affected, with a do not travel warning between York and Newcastle and Edinburgh
• LNER services will be affected until Saturday with a warning to not travel north of York
• Lumo services are warning not to travel north of Newcastle
• All ScotRail services will be suspended on Friday and will be "heavily impacted" on Saturday
• Network Rail has said "other lines across northern England, Scotland and northern Wales may also be closed at short notice"
• Train services across Northern Ireland have also been suspended
• Transport for Wales has warned services may be subject to last-minute changes and cancellations on Friday
Roads
• The A66 between the A1M in North Yorkshire and M6 in Cumbria, as well as the A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, were closed Friday due to strong winds, National Highways said
• The M48 Severn Bridge was closed earlier on Friday, while the Tamar Bridge on the A38 between Devon and Cornwall was closed to high-sided vehicles until 5am
• Avon and Somerset reported a number of local roads had been blocked due to fallen trees, advising motorists to "take care when travelling"
• Police Scotland has urged drivers not to travel
• RAC Breakdown has also advised motorists in areas covered by red weather warnings not to drive "unless absolutely essential"
• Bus services in Northern Ireland will be suspended on Friday
Airports
An estimated 1,124 flights scheduled to operate to or from airports in the UK and Ireland on Friday were cancelled, Aviation analytics company Cirium said.
That is equivalent to 20% of all flights.
The worst affected airports in terms of the number of cancellations were Dublin (120 departures, 110 arrivals), Edinburgh (85 departures, 80 arrivals), Heathrow (51 departures, 62 arrivals) and Glasgow (44 departures, 43 arrivals).
• At least 334 flights have been cancelled across airports in Scotland and Northern Ireland, including Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow, analysis of flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows. The cancellations affect about 50,000 passengers
• Multiple flights departing from London Heathrow Airport, Newcastle Airport and Liverpool Airport have been cancelled
• Some flights from Manchester Airport have also been cancelled, as well as to and from Dublin Airport
Ferries
• All CalMac ferry services scheduled for Friday have been cancelled
• Northlink Ferries, serving the Northern Isles, also amended its services for Friday and is keeping its sailings for Saturday under review, with "a high probability of cancellation" for morning services
Public services, spaces and other sites
• Edinburgh Council said all non-essential services in the region, including parks, museums and galleries, were closed or suspended on Friday. All council buildings were also shut
• Glasgow Life, which runs libraries, museums and cultural venues in the Scottish city, shut all its sites on Friday
• The V&A Dundee closed throughout Friday with plans to reopen on Saturday
• All Scottish courts within or near the red warning zone were closed
• The Scottish Parliament closed all day on Friday
• Some children's playgrounds in London parks, including Hyde Park, closed on Friday as a precaution
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Sport fixtures
• The Scottish Women's Premier League match between Celtic and Hearts, scheduled for 7.30pm on Friday, has been postponed
• Sheffield United's home game against fellow Championship side Hull City at 8pm on Friday is still scheduled to go ahead