Tidal research shows Storm Éowyn generated the highest storm surges ever recorded
A research team at the University of Galway has revealed that Storm Éowyn generated the highest storm surges ever recorded at key locations on Ireland's western seaboard.
By analysing sea level information from 47 datasets provided by the Irish National Tide Gauge Network and the Office of Public Works, the team based at the University's School of Engineering has highlighted the unprecedented power of the storm's surge, more than 2.5 metres above the normal predicted tidal water level.
Advertisement
Storm Éowyn, one of the most powerful storms to hit Ireland in recent years, also saw record-breaking winds.
The highest gust recorded was 184 km/h, with the highest 10-minute wind speed reaching 142 km/h at Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station in County Galway.
Despite the severity of Storm Éowyn in other ways and the devastation wrought by hurricane-force winds and lasting damage to power and water supplies, the timing of the tides during storm landfall meant little to no flooding impacts.
The research team highlighted data from three coastal locations during Storm Éowyn - Galway Port, Limerick Docks and Shannon Airport.
Advertisement
At Galway Port, the storm surge peaked at 2.60 meters above the normal predicted astronomical tide, the highest ever recorded at this station since its operation began in 2007
At Limerick Docks, the highest surge along the western coastline was recorded, reaching 2.99 meters above tidal level
At Shannon Airport, the tidal gauge recorded a surge of 2.70 meters.
Had these surges occurred a week earlier during the high water spring tide, the water levels would have been much higher, with data predicting that the water level at Galway Port would have reached 4.96m, Limerick Dock at 5.85m, and Shannon Airport at 5.43m above mean sea level, inundating the areas.
Advertisement
Ireland
Young boy dies after being struck by car in Co Wes...
Read More
Dr Indiana Olbert from the School of Engineering at the University of Galway said: 'Extensive research suggests that flooding has increased in frequency and severity in recent decades around the world, which is attributed to climate change.
Our analysis of the drivers of flooding in Ireland shows that the anthropogenic climate change – the changes related to human activity - will drive more extreme rainfall and generate more intense flooding. Such changes are likely to continue with further warming. In future we will witness more extreme weather events that will result in devastating floods.
'Our analysis also shows that a rise in mean sea level rise will significantly increase the risk of coastal flooding in the future.
"The data we have recovered from the hours around Storm Éowyn shows just how narrowly tens of thousands of people avoided tidal inundation and threats to cities, towns and coastal communities. It is hard to imagine how narrowly we avoided unprecedented storm surge flooding and inundation, in particular in towns and cities.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
09-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Over 92,000 applications made for compensation from Storm Eowyn
Over 92,000 applications have been made for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme due to the damage caused by Storm Éowyn. The Department of Social Protection said 45,600 Stage one payments have been made, totalling almost €11.2 million. Advertisement Storm Éowyn left 788,000 people without power across the country after it hit the country in January. There were also outages at water treatment plants, which cut off water supplies to some people. Stage 1 of the scheme is to address hardship in the immediate aftermath of a severe weather event and provides emergency support payments to cover food and other essential costs. Stage 2 support generally involves replacing white goods, basic furniture, and other essential household items after a severe weather event. Stage 3 helps to make a person's accommodation habitable again in the aftermath of a severe weather event. It generally includes funding for work such as plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting. Stage 1 of the scheme was opened on the 23rd of January, and it was closed on the 25th of April. Stages 2 and 3 of the scheme were also opened on January 23rd and remain open. Applications to stages 2 and 3 of the scheme are means-tested.
BBC News
04-05-2025
- BBC News
Storm Éowyn: Mourne Wall repairs to cost £650k
Months after Storm Éowyn left a trail of destruction across Northern Ireland, NI Water has said it will cost approximately £650,000 to repair the damage it caused to the Mourne Wall.A recently completed survey to assess the damage found there were 63 individual collapses along the wall across six mountains in the Éowyn brought winds of more than 90mph when it hit on 24 January and left thousands without red warning storm also caused a nine-week closure of Silent Valley Reservoir in the Mournes due to the damage, with access to many walking trails still restricted by NI Water. The full extent of the damage to the 22-mile Mourne Wall by Storm Éowyn was found after a survey, which began on 24 February, was completed on Water, which is in ownership of the wall, said the survey was "time consuming" due to the nature of the task to inspect each section of the iconic was found that 700m of the Mourne Wall was damaged with 63 individual collapses across six mountains, including Slieve Donard – Northern Ireland's tallest 2023, NI Water announced a £2.5m investment for phase two of the Mourne Wall Restoration one was completed in 2018 and saw more than 600 repairs two involved repairs to on Slieve Muck and Rocky Mountain. Most damage to areas that were not restored However, NI Water confirmed that only one section repaired through the restoration project collapsed due to Storm Éowyn."The estimated cost for repairs will be approximately £650k," NI Water told BBC News NI."NI Water is now preparing a business case and repairs may be included in the 2025/2026 Capital Delivery Programme subject to funding approval."Fortunately, the majority of the damage was to areas that have not been updated under the Mournes Restoration Project scheme."There was one section of repaired wall that was damaged by the collapse of the original wall alongside it."The Mournes is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and also suffered from more than 140 wildfires last of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir described the wildfires as "rural arson". What is the Mourne Wall? The Mourne Wall is 22-miles long and was built from 1904 to as 'the handrail of the Mournes' as it helps guide hikers, it is made of natural granite stone using only traditional dry stone walling construction was overseen by the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners and was designed to keep livestock from contaminating water Mourne Wall is synonymous with the Mourne Mountains and is Northern Ireland's longest listed building. In March 2024, NI Water completed the second phase of essential repairs on the 100 year old wall through the Mourne Wall Restoration than 300 repairs were completed across 15 mountains during phase two of the project, bringing the total number of collapses fixed on the structure to over 900 since the project began in 2017.
Wales Online
30-04-2025
- Wales Online
Professor explains 'induced atmospheric vibration' after Spain's blackout
Professor explains 'induced atmospheric vibration' after Spain's blackout Professor Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian said we are at at increasing risk of mass power cuts like the one seen in Spain, Portugal and France Employees stand inside a supermarket without lights in Burgos on April 28, 2025, during a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula and the south of France The lights are mostly back on in Spain, Portugal and southern France after a widespread blackout on Monday that caused chaos for tens of millions of people. It shut down traffic lights and ATMs, halted public transport, cut phone service and many people found themselves trapped in trains and elevators. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said the exact cause of the blackout is yet to be determined. In early reporting, Portugal's grid operator REN was quoted as blaming the event on a rare phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'. REN has since reportedly refuted this. Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Professor of Electrical Engineering at the School of Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, said weather is a major cause of disruptions to electricity supply. In the United States, 83% of reported blackouts between 2000 and 2021 were attributed to weather-related events. Professor Seyedmahmoudian told The Conversation: "The ways weather can affect the supply of electricity are manifold. For example, cyclones can bring down transmission lines, heatwaves can place too high a demand on the grid, and bushfires can raze substations. Wind can also cause transmission lines to vibrate. These vibrations are characterised by either high amplitude and low frequency (known as 'conductor galloping'), or low amplitude and high frequency (known as 'aeolian vibrations'). "These vibrations are a significant problem for grid operators. They can place increased stress on grid infrastructure, potentially leading to blackouts. To reduce the risk of vibration, grid operators often use wire stabilisers known as 'stock bridge dampers'." What is 'induced atmospheric vibration'? Vibrations in power lines can be caused by extreme changes in temperature or air pressure, said Professor Seyedmahmoudian . Article continues below The Guardian initially reported Portugal's REN as saying: "Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration'. These oscillations caused synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network." Professor Seyedmahmoudian said: "I nduced atmospheric vibration is not a commonly used term, but it seems likely the explanation was intended to refer to physical processes climate scientists have known about for quite some time. In simple terms, it seems to refer to wavelike movements or oscillations in the atmosphere, caused by sudden changes in temperature or pressure. These can be triggered by extreme heating, large-scale energy releases (such as explosions or bushfires), or intense weather events. "When a part of Earth's surface heats up very quickly – due to a heatwave, for example – the air above it warms, expands and becomes lighter. That rising warm air creates a pressure imbalance with the surrounding cooler, denser air. The atmosphere responds to this imbalance by generating waves, not unlike ripples spreading across a pond. "These pressure waves can travel through the atmosphere. In some cases, they can interact with power infrastructure — particularly long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines. "These types of atmospheric waves are usually called gravity waves, thermal oscillations or acoustic-gravity waves. While the phrase 'induced atmospheric vibration' is not formally established in meteorology, it seems to describe this same family of phenomena. "What's important is that it's not just high temperatures alone that causes these effects — it's how quickly and unevenly the temperature changes across a region. That's what sets the atmosphere into motion and can cause power lines to vibrate. Again, though, it's still unclear if this is what was behind the recent blackout in Europe. "Understanding how the atmosphere behaves under these conditions is becoming increasingly important. As our energy systems become more interconnected and more dependent on long-distance transmission, even relatively subtle atmospheric disturbances can have outsized impacts. What might once have seemed like a fringe effect is now a growing factor in grid resilience. "Under growing environmental and electrical stress, centralised energy networks are dangerously vulnerable. The increasing electrification of buildings, the rapid uptake of electric vehicles, and the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources have placed unprecedented pressure on traditional grids that were never designed for this level of complexity, dynamism or centralisation. "Continuing to rely on centralised grid structures without fundamentally rethinking resilience puts entire regions at risk — not just from technical faults, but from environmental volatility. The way to avoid such catastrophic risks is clear: we must embrace innovative solutions such as community microgrids. These are decentralised, flexible and resilient energy networks that can operate independently when needed. Article continues below "Strengthening local energy autonomy is key to building a secure, affordable and future-ready electricity system. "The European blackout, regardless of its immediate cause, demonstrates that our electrical grids have become dangerously sensitive. Failure to address these structural weaknesses will have consequences far worse than those experienced during the COVID pandemic."
