The Irish Snowstorms No One Was Expecting: What Does It Mean?
While these storms may have come and gone, and forever be left in the month of January 2025, any extreme weather event should be cause for at least some concern. While Ireland did get through the storms, with some panic, the country have been more prepared, and should really begin considering how to prepare for or prevent the next storm. Learn more about how these events are being caused by detrimental climate change!
The Irish Snowstorms No One Was Expecting: What Does It Mean?
During the month of January Ireland experienced some of the worst snowstorms they have had since 2017. While the people of Ireland were left brutally unprepared for such an event, should more dangerous weather be expected in the future?
What Happened?
Storm Eowyn was one of the storms that hit Ireland on the 24th of January. This storm is considered to be one of the most significant weather events to hit Ireland for years, with the last huge storm occurring sometime 8 years ago, in 2017. Eowyn is given this label for good reason, with “record-breaking gusts” hitting speeds up to 183 kmh (114 mph). The storm resulted with around 625,000 properties being without power. Prior to Eowyn, on January 5th Ireland was hit with even more storms, with around 28,000 homes and businesses being left without power on the date. Three days later, on the 8th, Ireland was still experiencing the downfall of the storm. A few thousand citizens were left without water due to low reservoir levels, as a direct result of “weather-related pipe bursts”. January was a month of extreme weather events that Ireland simply wasn’t used to, which resulted in millions in damage and placing the citizens of Ireland into danger.
An Unprepared Nation
After the first storm of the month, Irish citizens reacted in a big way. Similar to Covid, people were panic buying a multitude of products such as toilet paper and bread. On top of this, some citizens expressed a disdain toward the entire situation, blaming news networks of using “climate hysteria” to fearmonger the Irish people. Because of this, many people decided to consider the storm as “nothing more than a gust of wind”. It is very clear there was a split between how the media presented the storms and how the people received it.
Is This A Sign? While completely denying the severity of the storm is a bit ignorant, are there real worries to hold about the future of weather in Ireland? Storm Eowyn was said to be fueled by jet streams tracing the North Atlantic, and was the reason for the severity of the storm. The speed of the jet stream that caused the storm usually sits around 200 mph, but had increased to a speed of 260 mph the week of the storm. These increases in speeds do have links to climate change, with a study stating that these streams increase in speed by 2% for every degree Celsius the world warms. However, Storm Eowyn specifically has not been linked to climate change, as stated by environmental scientist Dr. Tara Shine. However, Dr. Shine believes that Ireland was chronically unprepared for extreme weather, and perhaps should start investing in becoming prepared for such events. The Irish Meteorological Service warns about how extreme weather events such as Storm Eowyn will only increase as the climate continues to change.
Recap
While these storms may have come and gone, and forever be left in the month of January 2025, any extreme weather event should be cause for at least some concern. While Ireland did get through the storms, with some panic, the country have been more prepared, and should really begin considering how to prepare for or prevent the next storm. Climate Change is not stopping, and soon these anomalistic storms and winds may end up become the norm.