Red Wind Warning for Dublin ahead of Storm Éowyn

Please be advised that due to #StormÉowyn all Fingal County Council Public Buildings and Libraries are closed to the public Friday 24th January 2025 Ahead of what could be one of the most severe storms Ireland has ever seen, we would like to remind people to take action to protect themselves and their property in preparation of the Status Red Wind Warning which comes into effect for Dublin early on Friday morning.

This will be a severe weather event, with destructive gusts exceeding 130km/h throughout the morning. The Red warning will be in place for the Dublin region from 6am – 11am on Friday. Given the nature of the storm, members of the public are advised to stay indoors and not to undertake any travel during the warning.

Met Éireann is warning Storm Éowyn has the capacity to bring severe winds which will constitute a risk to life and property. People are advised to prepare for the arrival of the storm in advance, including ensuring their mobile phone is fully charged to enable communication.

The potential impacts include:   

• Cancellation of events
• Coastal flooding in low lying and exposed areas
• Danger to life
• Disruption and cancellations to transport
• Extremely dangerous travelling conditions
• Fallen trees
• Significant and widespread power outages
• Structural damage
• Unsafe working conditions
• Wave overtopping

Due to the severity of the storm, we wish to advise that all Fingal County Council offices, parks, community centres, libraries and recycling centres will be closed across all of Friday (24 Jan). We will update access details to these public facilities via our social media channels once it is ok to do so and any assessment has been undertaken to areas impacted by the storm. The decision has also been made to close all of our playing pitches until Monday (27 Jan) when all pitches will be inspected and a playability report will be issued.

While council offices and facilities are closed, it will still be business as usual with all of our staff working and responding to any queries. Members of the public can contact Fingal County Council on 018905000 during normal office hours, after which calls will be transferred to the council’s emergency/out of hours service. You may also email our Operations Teams within your local area using:

• Castleknock Mulhuddart Area -  [email protected]
• Balbriggan Swords Area -  [email protected]
• Howth Malahide Area -  [email protected]

People should be aware that all education facilities and early childhood care centres will be closed for the duration of the warning. You should have received notifications of this directly from your provider, however you should contact them directly to confirm any arrangements.

The National Transport Authority has also confirmed that public transport services, including bus, tram and trains, will not be operating in areas where the Status Red Warning is in place.

Issues should be reported directly to Fingal’s Emergency contact number on 018905000. Reports will be logged for action after the red warning period ends. We ask that you do not report issues via our social media channels so that issues can be dealt with as quickly as possible. Once the warning lifts and it is safe to do so, teams will be out to try and deal with issues, but as it's expected to be a major clean-up operation required well into the weekend, we ask for your patience. 

In the event of an emergency call 999 or 112 to request Fire, Ambulance, Gardaí or Irish Coastguard as is appropriate. Please do not assume others will handle this; take the initiative yourself to ensure action can be taken.

The electricity network is expected to be severely impacted; the public is advised to prepare for the arrival of the storm including ensuring their mobile phone is fully charged to enable communication. If you are impacted, ESB Emergency Services can be contacted at 1800 372 999. The public can monitor www.PowerCheck.ie with regard to power restoration times.

In terms of water outages and other related issues, Uisce Éireann customers can get in touch with them via their 24/7 customer care centre at 1800 278 278.

Separately to this red warning, there is also currently a Status Yellow - Gale warning for all coasts of Ireland and on the Irish Sea. Southwest to west winds will occasionally reach gale force 8 on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea. This will be in place until 4pm today (Thurs 23 January).

For all weather updates and information from Met Éireann go to www.met.ie.