Winter Storm Éowyn Forecast to Hit UK Later This Week

(Bloomberg) -- Winter Storm Éowyn is forecast to bring damaging winds and heavy rain to western Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England later this week.

It’s expected to arrive in the UK on Thursday, before reaching its peak on Friday. The storm could be the strongest since Darragh knocked out power and drove widespread train cancellations in early December, according to Greg Dewhurst, a meteorologist at the UK’s Met Office.

Éowyn will be supercharged by atmospheric currents feeding off the cold blast of arctic air that threatened transportation and energy systems in the US on Monday. The Met Office on Tuesday expanded its yellow wind warnings to cover Northern Ireland, Scotland and much of England, except for London and parts of the southeast.

“There’s a lot of energy there and that helps speed up the jet stream,” Dewhurst said.

Snow is possible over the Scottish mountains, while the storm will bring heavy rain and damaging wind gusts of up to 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour to coastal areas, Dewhurst said. That’s strong enough to down branches, power lines and disrupt travel.

There is a small chance Éowyn tracks further south, which could weaken the storm but expose more heavily populated regions of England and Wales to wind and rain. 

Heating Demand

Heating demand remains high as below-average temperatures persist in UK on Tuesday.

Orange and yellow alerts for heavy rain were issued Tuesday morning for southern Portugal and southwest Spain.

(Updates with expansion of yellow wind warnings in third paragraph)

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