Storm Éowyn to bring 80mph winds to UK as Met Office issues 'severe' warning

Storm Éowyn is set to bring strong winds with gusts of 80mph to parts of the UK this week.

An area of deep low pressure forming above the Atlantic will head towards the UK later this week, bring some disruptive weather, the Met Office has warned. The latest named storm is set to hit the UK on Friday into Saturday, according to the weather agency.

Storm Éowyn is the fifth named storm of the season and the first of 2025. The last named storm, Storm Darragh, hit the UK on December 6 and saw a rare red weather warning issued.

Ahead of Storm Éowyn reaching the UK, a yellow weather warning for strong winds has been issued for Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The Met Office said the UK could see the "strongest winds of the winter so far" and some "potentially disruptive weather" with "severe gales" in the west of the UK.

The 'powerful' weather system, which is known as a 'weather bomb', will bring heavy rain and strong winds to the north west of the UK.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond said "Winds will begin to strengthen on Thursday night with the peak gusts forecast through Friday in Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The wind will also be accompanied by heavy rain bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week."

The change in weather comes as the United States experiences a severe cold weather spell. A large, very cold pool of air over North America is generating a stark contrast in temperatures across the continent. It is this contrast that is set to strengthen the jet stream, with jet stream winds of up to 250mph expected, resulting in the deep low pressure over the UK.

Mr Almond explained: "As the low develops over the Atlantic and interacts with the jet stream it will rapidly strengthen, a phenomenon called ‘explosive cyclogenesis’, where the central pressure of a low at latitudes in which the UK lies drops 24 millibars or more in 24 hours. This is forecast to happen on Thursday while the system is out over the Atlantic and it will be a mature feature by the time it reaches the UK."

When a low pressure system undergoes explosive cyclogenesis, it is called a 'weather bomb'. Weather bombs can bring winds that peak over a period of a few hours and can be strong enough to bring down trees and cause structural damage, according to the Met Office.

The yellow weather warning for wind covers west Scotland and Northern Ireland and will be in place from midnight on Friday until midday on Saturday.

The weather warning states: "A deep area of low pressure is expected to pass close to or across the northwest of the UK on Friday and Saturday. It will bring a spell of very strong southeasterly to southwesterly winds with gusts reaching 50 to 60mph inland and 70 to 80mph along coasts (and perhaps higher than this in a few locations). The wind strength will gradually ease through Saturday from the south."