Severe storm lashes parts of UK and Ireland, causing travel chaos

Parts of the UK and Ireland have issued rare "shelter-in-place" warnings as a powerful storm hits the region, bringing dangerous winds of up to 160 km/h and causing travel chaos. Storm Isha, a temperate "bomb" cyclone formed in the North Atlantic, has rapidly intensified, impacting rail services, causing flight delays, and forcing road closures.

According to forecasts from the UK Met Office, Northern Ireland and central and southwestern Scotland will bear the brunt of the strongest winds and be the most severely affected. Red weather warnings were issued for parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland on Friday morning. Additionally, yellow snow warnings were also issued for northern and central Scotland on Friday. While snow is possible in the highlands, lower areas are expected to turn to sleet and rain during the day.

Currently, more than 93,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are without power, according to Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE). The supplier stated, "Restoration of power will take a considerable amount of time as crews cannot begin work until it is safe to do so." Northern Ireland's First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, has issued a "shelter-in-place" warning to residents, stating in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster that they are currently in the "eye of the storm."

The Irish Meteorological Service stated that a gust of 182 km/h was recorded at Mace Head in County Galway at 5 a.m. local time, which is temporarily the strongest gust speed recorded in the country. All schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland were closed on Friday, and hundreds of schools in Scotland were also closed. Scottish First Minister John Swinney also warned people not to travel. Public transport has been severely disrupted by the storm, and ScotRail has suspended all services in Scotland on Friday, stating that "it is not safe to operate passenger services."

Other rail services affected by the storm include Avanti West Coast, LNER, West Midlands Railway, Lumo, Transport for Wales, and South Western Railway. Many flights in the region have been canceled. According to UK PA Media, more than 1,070 flights scheduled to depart from the UK and Ireland on Friday have been canceled. Dublin Airport announced later on Friday that flights had resumed from the runway after the wind had "subsided somewhat," but further cancellations throughout the day could not be ruled out. Meanwhile, drivers in red and amber weather warning areas are advised to avoid unnecessary travel.

Social media platforms are flooded with images of the damage caused by Storm Isha. Dublin Fire Brigade posted a photo of scaffolding that had collapsed in a suburb of central Dublin, stating that the road was "completely blocked." Another photo shared by the fire brigade showed supermarket shelves almost completely emptied of bread. A photo taken in County Durham in northeast England showed a truck overturned on a major road due to strong winds. In the city of Galway, Ireland, locals reported that trees that had stood for more than 60 years were uprooted by the storm.

"(I) was woken up even before the red alert started, the wind was so strong," said 25-year-old sports scientist Catriona Heffernan from Galway. She added, "Those trees have been there for 60 years, even older than the house. It's sad to see them fall, but I'm glad they didn't cause any damage." Storm Isha is expected to leave the UK on Saturday, but yellow wind warnings remain in place for Scotland and Northern Ireland for the morning and early afternoon on Saturday.

Ambrogio Volonte, a senior researcher in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, warned that the intensity of Storm Isha could be "comparable" to Storm Eunice in 2022 and Storm Ciaran in 2023, "both of which caused casualties and severe damage." Leitch said that Isha is a temperate bomb cyclone formed in the North Atlantic that has "rapidly intensified." He said that bomb cyclones are typically the most impactful winter storms in Northern Europe. While Leitch said the impact of the climate crisis on temperate cyclones remains uncertain, some studies suggest that the most severe storms may become stronger with climate change.