Wind alerts removed across the State; many regain electricity
On August 4, 2025, Storm Floris hit northern parts of the UK, including Ireland and Northern Ireland, bringing intense rainfall and unusually strong winds for August. The storm caused significant disruption, including power outages and challenging conditions that emergency services continued to manage in the days following the storm.
Ireland and Northern Ireland Brace for Storm Floris
In Ireland and Northern Ireland, Met Éireann and the Met Office issued weather advisories and warnings ahead of the storm, forecasting wet and unseasonably windy conditions from Sunday night into Monday. Heavy rainfall and gusty westerly winds were expected, with winds reaching up to 70km/h at the height of the storm in Ireland, and higher speeds in exposed areas of Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Disruption and Power Outages
The combination of strong winds and heavy rain during summer months raised concerns because full-leaf trees are more vulnerable to wind damage, increasing the hazard of fallen trees and blocked drainage leading to flooding. As a result, electricity outages affected tens of thousands of homes and businesses due to downed power lines from fallen trees. Restoration efforts were hampered by ongoing strong winds and blocked roads, potentially prolonging power losses and travel disruptions.
In Ireland, the ESB spokesman described the impact of Storm Floris as modest, but Dublin Airport's operations were largely affected, with a small number of flights from Emerald Airlines to the UK being cancelled. Passengers scheduled to fly out of airports in the North were advised to contact their airline directly for flight updates.
Several flights have also been cancelled in Northern Ireland, where wind gusts reached 80-90 mph in exposed areas, with some Scottish gusts exceeding 100 mph. This caused fallen trees, structural damage, and disruption to transport and electricity networks.
Weather Warnings and Advice
The Met Office and Met Éireann issued amber and yellow weather warnings highlighting the risks of dangerous travelling conditions, localised flooding from heavy rain, wave overtopping along coasts, and structural damage from debris and trees. The public was warned not to approach fallen wires or damaged infrastructure, which could be "extremely dangerous".
Crews have been mobilized in affected areas to respond to outages, and thousands of homes and businesses in the west and northwest of Ireland have had their electricity restored following early morning outages caused by Storm Floris.
Met Éireann's senior forecaster Gerry Murphy said the storm was within a Yellow level warning range. The storm intensified at sea as it moved north and could reach winds well in excess of 100km per hour in Scotland later today.
As of 5pm on Monday, 2,700 homes and businesses were still without power in Ireland. Yellow wind warnings remain in place for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Derry, while they have been lifted in the Republic of Ireland but remain in place across Northern Ireland.
Tuesday will bring a lot of dry weather overall, with spells of sunshine, a scattering of showers, highest temperatures of 15 degrees in the north to 21 degrees further south, and moderate to fresh west to northwest winds, decreasing light to moderate later in the day.
[1] Met Éireann [2] Met Office [3] BBC News [4] RTE News
- In the aftermath of Storm Floris, Met Éireann and the Met Office advised the public in Ireland and Northern Ireland to be cautious of dangerous traveling conditions, local flooding from heavy rain, and structural damage from debris and trees.
- On Monday, Met Éireann warned that Storm Floris remained a yellow wind warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Derry, potentially causing further power outages and travel disruptions.
