Statistical Report on Major Storm Data for Ireland – 2015 – 2025
We’ve put our thinking caps on here at Elm Landscaping this month. As professional Tree Surgeons, we’re fascinated by all things related. When you think of tree surgery, you think about storm damage and tree removal. Sure, maybe one or two trees have overgrown on your land or in your garden and need to be taken care of or removed but really, when there is a major storm, there can be countless trees that have fallen, causing accidents and fatalities. In Ireland, we name the majority of our significant storms and we wanted to put them together to provide a real insight as to whether or not storms are getting more dangerous overtime.
This report provides a detailed overview and comparative analysis of major storms that have impacted the Republic of Ireland over the past ten years (2015–2025). It includes both named and unnamed storms that resulted in significant weather events, infrastructure disruption, or environmental damage. The focus is on key metrics such as peak wind speeds, number of trees felled, and power outages.
Data and insights have been drawn from a wide range of reliable sources including official weather reports from Met Éireann, outage and infrastructure updates from ESB Networks, forestry data and impact assessments from Coillte, as well as relevant government departments and reputable news organizations such as RTÉ, The Irish Times, and The Journal.
Where available, numerical data has been used to compare storm severity; where not available, qualitative descriptions from official statements and media coverage have been provided. The goal of this research is to better understand the increasing impact of severe weather events on Ireland’s natural environment and infrastructure, with a specific emphasis on wind-related treefall and power network vulnerability. Here we go!
Introduction
Over the past decade, the Republic of Ireland has endured numerous severe storms – both officially named and unnamed – that caused significant damage. This report details all major storms from 2015 through early 2025, summarizing for each event the dates, peak wind speeds, number of trees felled (when known), power outages, and notable impacts. Official data and reports from Met Éireann, ESB Networks, Coillte, government agencies, and reputable news sources are used to ensure accuracy. A comparative summary table is provided at the end, highlighting how these storms rank in terms of wind speeds, tree loss, and power outages.
Storm Desmond (December 2015)
Dates: 4–6 December 2015
Peak Wind: Storm Desmond was primarily a rain-driven storm; wind gusts in Ireland reached roughly 120–130 km/h in exposed western areas (Status Orange wind warnings were issued with gusts up to 130 km/h forecast.
Trees Felled: Not documented by count. The storm’s legacy was catastrophic flooding rather than wind-felled forestry.
Power Outages: On 5 December, about 2,000 customers lost power as Desmond hit (rte). Outages were relatively limited because wind impacts were secondary to rainfall.
Notable Impacts: Desmond marked the onset of one of Ireland’s wettest winters on record. Extreme “atmospheric river” conditions brought record rainfall – Met Éireann recorded 602 mm of rain (average) in Ireland that month – causing severe flooding along the River Shannon and other waterways. The midlands and west were hardest hit by floods, with hundreds of homes inundated and infrastructure damage estimated at €106 million (irishtimes.com). Storm Desmond was followed by several other winter storms in quick succession, exacerbating flood conditions.
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Storm Frank (December 2015)
Dates: 29–30 December 2015
Peak Wind: Gale-force winds with gusts up to 120–130 km/h were recorded during Storm Frank. Coastal areas in the west and southwest experienced the strongest winds, though Frank is remembered more for heavy rain than extreme gusts.
Trees Felled: Not recorded in detail. Numerous trees were blown down, contributing to road closures and power line damage.
Power Outages: At peak, about 13,000 customers lost electricity. By the afternoon of Dec 30, some 7,500 remained without power (down from 13k overnight) as ESB crews worked to restore supply. Cork was especially impacted – a single outage in Bandon/Fermoy knocked out 4,000 customers (irishtimes.com).
Notable Impacts: Frank compounded the flooding that began with Desmond. Torrential rain flooded parts of Cork, Kerry, and the southeast. Towns like Middleton and Bandon were submerged under water. Roads were closed by floods and fallen trees, and thousands of acres of farmland were waterlogged. While wind damage (roofing losses, etc.) was reported, the lasting image of Storm Frank is widespread flood devastation in late December 2015.
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Storm Ophelia (October 2017)
Dates: 16 October 2017
Peak Wind: 191 km/h gust – the strongest winds of any storm in recent Irish history. This extreme gust was recorded as Ophelia made landfall, with parts of Ireland (likely Fastnet Rock off Co. Cork) seeing 191 km/h winds (irishtimes.com). On land, a 156 km/h gust was measured at Roche’s Point, Co. Cork (met.ie). These speeds approached Category 2 hurricane strength.
Trees Felled: Countless trees were downed nationwide – Ophelia struck while many trees still had leaves, maximizing damage. Entire shelterbelts and urban trees were ripped up. (For context, Ophelia’s predecessor Storm Darwin in 2014 felled ~7.5 million trees (irishtimes.com), and Ophelia, though not quantified in full, caused “felled countless trees” across Ireland (met.ie)
Power Outages: Approximately 385,000 homes and businesses (nearly 1 in 3 customers) lost power (irishtimes.com). This was an unprecedented outage at the time – the largest since records began, requiring a week to fully restore in some areas.
Notable Impacts: Ophelia is regarded as the worst storm to hit Ireland in 50 years (en.wikipedia.org). Three people lost their lives (all in tree-fall incidents) (irishtimes.com). A rare nationwide Status Red warning was issued, closing all schools and many workplaces (met.ie). The storm lifted roofs off buildings, notably tearing away large sections of roofs in Cork. Coastal flooding occurred in Galway and Cork as high winds coincided with high tide (met.ie). Overall damage was estimated around €70 million (irishtimes.com). Ophelia’s immense winds and widespread disruptions firmly established it as one of Ireland’s most extreme storms on record.
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Storm Emma (“Beast from the East”, Feb/Mar 2018)
Dates: 28 February – 3 March 2018
Peak Wind: 100 km/h gusts in blizzard conditions. While primarily a snowstorm, Storm Emma brought strong easterly winds (gale-force) that, when combined with Siberian cold air, created whiteout blizzards especially on 1–2 March. Met Éireann recorded mean winds around 70–80 km/h with gusts to 100+ km/h during heavy snow (irishtimes.com).
Trees Felled: Relatively few compared to other storms – the cold and snow, rather than wind, were the main hazards. However, heavy snow caused some tree limbs to break and minor tree falls, and lingering damage from Ophelia (4 months prior) meant some weakened trees gave way (independent.ie).
Power Outages: ~24,000 customers lost power at the height of the blizzard (primarily in the east). ESB crews worked in difficult conditions to restore electricity. The outages were significant but more limited than wind-only storms, since snow rather than widespread wind was the cause.
Notable Impacts: Storm Emma merged with the “Beast from the East” cold wave, blanketing Ireland in deep snow – the heaviest snowfall since the 1980s. Snow depths of 30–60 cm were common in eastern and southern counties. The country was effectively shut down for 2–3 days: all flights in and out of Dublin and Cork were canceled, inter-city rail and bus services were suspended, and Red weather warnings (for snow/wind) were in place. There were numerous drifts and impassable roads; the Army assisted in rescuing stranded motorists and health workers. In one notorious incident, a supermarket in Tallaght was looted by opportunists using a stolen digger during the chaos (irishtimes.com). Storm Emma’s combination of snow and wind made it a rare but memorable event in Ireland’s storm records.
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Storm Ali (September 2018)
Dates: 19 September 2018
Peak Wind: 147–150 km/h gusts. Storm Ali struck Ireland with violent winds, especially in the midlands and west. Gusts exceeded 150 km/h in places. For example, Met Éireann noted a gust of 143 km/h at Mace Head, Galway, and many inland sites saw gusts 120+ km/h.
Trees Felled: Extremely high. Ali hit while trees were in full leaf, leading to hundreds of thousands of trees blown down nationwide (exact figures not available). Urban centers saw large mature trees uprooted – e.g. Dublin’s Phoenix Park and Cork City lost many trees – and rural woodlands had extensive windthrow. Tree falls were a major hazard, blocking roads and damaging power lines. The extent of fallen trees caused a surge in the requirement for dangerous tree removal services nationwide.
Power Outages: At least 186,000 customers lost electricity. Storm Ali caused over 1,400 distinct network faults, and at midday on 19 Sept ~186k homes and businesses were without power (offalyexpress.ie). By that evening, ESB still had ~67,000 customers down as repairs continued (irishtimes.com).
Notable Impacts: Two people were killed – a woman in Co. Galway died when her caravan was blown off a cliff, and a man in Northern Ireland was killed by a fallen tree. Ali’s ferocious winds (locally exceeding 120 km/h even well inland (independent.ie) tore off roofs, downed countless trees and power lines, and disrupted travel. Roads were littered with debris; rail and bus services were curtailed due to obstructions and safety concerns. Ali was the most damaging storm of 2018 in Ireland, illustrating how an early-season windstorm can wreak havoc with trees still in leaf.
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Storm Callum (October 2018)
Dates: 11–12 October 2018
Peak Wind: 125 km/h (approximate). Callum brought severe southerly gales, especially to Atlantic coasts. Gusts up to 124 km/h were recorded at Fastnet Lighthouse off Cork, and 100–120 km/h gusts affected coasts of Kerry, Clare, and Donegal (Status Orange wind warnings were issued). In Dublin, mean winds of 65–80 km/h with stronger gusts caused noticeable impacts as well.
Trees Felled: Moderate. Trees were brought down in many areas (particularly along south and west coasts and in higher elevations), but overall tree damage was less extensive than Ophelia or Ali. Fallen trees did block roads and rail lines in spots, and caused some property damage.
Power Outages: About 60,000 customers lost power at the peak of Storm Callum. Coastal counties in Munster and Connacht were worst hit. By the morning of Oct 12, roughly 20,000 were still without power after overnight restorations (chronicle.gi). ESB reported that “at its peak, the storm knocked out supply to 60,000 customers” (rte.ie).
Notable Impacts: Storm Callum’s timing with high tides led to significant coastal flooding. High spring tides + onshore winds caused large waves to overtop sea walls (metoffice.gov.uk). Areas of Cork city’s quays and Salthill in Galway experienced flooding. Several flights were canceled due to high winds. The combination of flooding and wind damage made Callum a costly storm, though fortunately no lives were lost. It served as a reminder that even mid-range storms (by wind speed) can have outsized impacts when coincident with high tides.
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Storm Hannah (April 2019)
Dates: 26–27 April 2019
Peak Wind: 122 km/h gust at Mace Head, Co. Galway. Storm Hannah struck late in the storm season (spring 2019) but packed a punch in the southwest. A 122 km/h top gust was recorded at Mace Head, with other stations in the southwest noting gusts ~114–119 km/h. Mean wind speeds reached storm force (93 km/h sustained at Mace Head), prompting rare Status Red wind warnings in Kerry and Clare.
Trees Felled: High in southwest counties. Being an off-season storm (many trees had leafed out by late April), Hannah uprooted numerous trees in west Munster. Coastal woodlands in Kerry/Clare saw significant damage, though the geographic impact was relatively concentrated. Fallen trees caused local road closures and some property damage (e.g. trees on roofs and cars in Limerick city).
Power Outages: At peak, 33,000 customers lost power nationwide. The worst-hit areas were west Munster (Kerry, Clare, west Limerick) and parts of Tipperary. By the next morning, ESB had restored power to 31,000 of those, with under 2,000 still out by 27 April. The damage was mainly due to trees falling on lines during the high winds.
Notable Impacts: Storm Hannah was “short-lived but violent” – it blew through overnight, causing damage primarily in the early hours. It disrupted travel, with flights at Shannon and Cork cancelled and fallen trees blocking roads (thejournal.ie). The storm’s late-season timing startled many; it came after a relatively quiet winter, proving that severe windstorms can occur even in spring. Thanks to effective warnings and its timing, no fatalities occurred, and the clean-up was swift once winds abated.
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Storm Lorenzo (October 2019)
Dates: 3–4 October 2019
Peak Wind: 107 km/h gust at Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Ex-Hurricane Lorenzo had weakened to an extra-tropical storm upon reaching Ireland. Western coastal counties saw gusts in the 90–110 km/h range (Belmullet recorded 107 km/h; Mace Head ~100 km/h). While still gale-force, Lorenzo’s winds were far less than initially feared when it was a Category 5 hurricane in the mid-Atlantic (marei.ie).
Trees Felled: Low to moderate. Some trees and branches came down (especially in County Galway and Mayo) due to saturated ground and winds, but damage was sporadic. Many observed that Storm Lorenzo’s bark was worse than its bite – it was well forecast and preparations were made, but the storm’s impact was limited.
Power Outages: Only ~1,000–5,000 outages. ESB reported a few localized faults (mostly in the west) but no widespread blackouts. Crews were on standby, yet Lorenzo spared the network major damage.
Notable Impacts: The government had mobilized emergency response ahead of Lorenzo (irishtimes.com), as it was the first named storm of that winter and had an unusual tropical origin. Coastal flooding did occur in parts of Galway and Mayo – high seas breached some defenses (a carryover effect from Lorenzo’s prior hurricane force). Overall, Ireland “escaped the worst” of Storm Lorenzo, with only minor wind damage and flooding. Its significance lies in the high alert it prompted as an ex-hurricane, even though the actual damage remained limited.
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Storm Brendan (January 2020)
Dates: 13 January 2020
Peak Wind: 135 km/h (estimated). Storm Brendan brought widespread high winds – several west coast stations recorded gusts around 130–135 km/h (e.g. Roches Point in Cork had ~135 km/h). A Status Orange was in effect for all coastal counties as mean winds of 80–100 km/h swept the country.
Trees Felled: High. Brendan’s winds felled numerous trees and blew loose debris around. With winter foliage off, trees were somewhat less vulnerable, but the storm still downed many roadside trees and uprooted older or weakened specimens.
Power Outages: Over 100,000 customers lost power. By evening, ESB had restored power to a majority, but 32,000 were still out that night. Worst-hit were southern counties (Wexford, Waterford, Kerry) and parts of the west. ESB said over 100k customers were restored during the day, implying roughly 132,000 affected in total (thejournal.ie).
Notable Impacts: Schools in many counties closed as a precaution due to the morning windstorm (watchers.news). High winds caused flight cancellations at Dublin and Shannon. In coastal areas, Storm Brendan drove huge waves ashore; Cork and Galway saw slipways and promenades flooded by spray. Structural damage included peeled-off roofs and cladding, especially in southwest towns. The storm also produced intense squally downpours, adding spot flooding to the wind damage. Storm Brendan demonstrated the potency of mid-winter Atlantic storms, arriving on the heels of Storm Atiyah (Dec 2019) and setting the stage for a very stormy February 2020 to follow.
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Storm Ciara & Storm Dennis (February 2020)
Dates: 9–15 February 2020 (Ciara: 9–10 Feb; Dennis: 15–16 Feb)
Peak Wind: 130 km/h (Ciara) and 120 km/h (Dennis). These two storms hit on consecutive weekends. Storm Ciara delivered gusts of 120–130 km/h along western and northern coasts (Mace Head ~130 km/h). Storm Dennis, a week later, was a massive rainmaker – winds in Ireland were a bit lower (100–120 km/h gusts) but it followed so closely that its rain fell on saturated ground.
Trees Felled: Moderate. Both storms toppled trees in various areas, though not on the scale of Ophelia/Ali. Ciara’s gusty squalls on 9 Feb uprooted trees and ripped branches (notably in Ulster and Connacht). Dennis, combined with waterlogged soil, led to some tree falls and even landslides in upland areas.
Power Outages: Roughly 10,000–20,000 outages from Ciara, and similar from Dennis. The impact was scattered; for Ciara, about 8,000 were without power in Donegal, Galway and Dublin at peak. Dennis caused fewer wind outages but some preventive shutdowns in flooded areas.
Notable Impacts: The one-two punch of Ciara and Dennis caused severe flooding. The Shannon basin, already swollen since winter, overflowed extensively after Dennis – towns in Longford, Roscommon, and Tipperary saw serious flood emergencies. Storm Ciara’s heavy rain (50–80 mm widely) and Storm Dennis’s record low pressure combined to produce perhaps the worst winter flooding since 2015. Transport was disrupted on both weekends: flights and ferries were canceled, and numerous sports events were postponed due to waterlogged pitches or high winds. These storms highlighted how back-to-back events can amplify overall damage even if individually they were moderate.
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Storm Ellen (August 2020)
Dates: 19–20 August 2020
Peak Wind: 143 km/h gust at Roches Point, Co. Cork. Storm Ellen was an exceptionally strong off-season storm. As it made landfall the night of 19 Aug, Roches Point recorded a 77-knot gust (143 km/h) – a new August wind speed record for Ireland. Many southern stations saw gusts 100–130 km/h, and even inland counties (Tipperary, Offaly) had gusts over 90 km/h, a rare occurrence in summer.
Trees Felled: Very high. Hitting in late summer, Ellen had maximum potential to fell trees in full leaf. Widespread treefall was reported across County Cork (which bore the brunt) and extending into Tipperary, Galway, and Roscommon. Coillte later noted that the forestry damage from Ellen in Munster was significant, though not officially tallied. Fallen trees blocked roads everywhere by morning; many parks and wooded areas in Cork/Kerry looked like a “storm in November” had hit.
Power Outages: Nearly 200,000 customers lost power. Outages began the evening of the 19th and by midnight ~194k homes and businesses were blacked out (telegraph.co.uk). This was the worst outage total since Ophelia. Even the next afternoon, 70,000 remained without power. Cork was hardest hit – 40,000 lost power in Cork alone at the height. Full restoration took several days in some rural pockets.
Notable Impacts: Storm Ellen struck during the peak of the summer holiday season. Coastal camping sites in West Cork experienced harrowing conditions as the storm hit overnight (newstalk.com)– fortunately no casualties occurred, as warnings allowed most campers to relocate to safety. Structural damage included roofs partially torn in Cork City and Bantry, and small craft tossed about in marinas (boats were ripped from moorings by force 11 winds). Ellen also caused some coastal flooding: a storm surge and high waves flooded parts of Cork’s low-lying areas on 20 Aug (met.ie). The combination of fallen trees, long power blackouts, and it being a summertime storm made Ellen especially noteworthy. It was Ireland’s most damaging August storm on record.
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Storm Francis (August 2020)
Dates: 24–26 August 2020
Peak Wind: 100 km/h gusts. Storm Francis followed just one week after Ellen, but was less about wind and more about rain. Gusts generally ranged 80–100 km/h, with a max around 104 km/h at Valentia Observatory. Winds alone did not cause extreme damage (a Yellow wind warning nationwide).
Trees Felled: Low. Coming so soon after Ellen, many vulnerable trees were already down. Some additional trees fell in waterlogged ground, but Francis’s main effects were not forestry-related.
Power Outages: Fairly minor – only “hundreds” of customers lost power (met.ie), mostly in pockets of Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Galway. ESB crews dealt with scattered faults; nothing on the scale of the previous storm.
Notable Impacts: The legacy of Storm Francis was flooding. It brought intense downpours (50–70 mm widely, with local totals over 100 mm in Cork/Waterford). Rivers already swollen by Ellen now burst their banks. West Cork experienced severe flash flooding; in the town of Bantry, over 50 businesses were inundated by floodwaters on 25 August. Several people had to be rescued from cars caught in sudden floods. In the Midlands and west, lakes and rivers overflowed – for instance, Lough Erne and the Shannon saw renewed flood levels. Thus, while Francis was a relatively tame windstorm, it compounded an already bad situation, making late August 2020 a period of exceptional weather disruption.
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Storm Barra (December 2021)
Dates: 7–8 December 2021
Peak Wind: 135 km/h+ gusts. Storm Barra was a powerful Atlantic “bomb cyclone” that hit Ireland with two days of severe weather. The strongest gusts topped 130 km/h on the west coast (multiple sites). Sherkin Island off west Cork recorded around 135 km/h; Newport, Co. Mayo had 124 km/h, and even inland Athboy, Meath saw 111 km/h gusts. Blizzard-like conditions occurred in some hills as Barra brought wintry showers too.
Trees Felled: High. Fallen trees were reported countrywide (watchers.news). In Cork city alone, dozens of street trees came down. Rural areas saw many trees and branches torn by the protracted winds (Barra blew hard for nearly 36 hours). The saturated ground from prior rain made it easier for trees to topple.
Power Outages: Around 59,000 customers lost power during Barra. ESB Networks confirmed 59k were without supply by the morning of 8 Dec (esb.ie). Crews restored about half by that night, but tens of thousands faced a second evening in the dark. The damage was “mainly attributable to fallen trees on overhead lines” (farmersjournal.ie). Counties Kerry, Cork, and Galway had the most extensive outages.
Notable Impacts: This storm was notable for its breadth – Red wind warnings were issued for Cork, Kerry and Clare, while all other counties had Orange alerts. It was the first nationwide red-level wind event since Ophelia. Schools across the country were closed for both 7 and 8 December as a safety measure. Barra’s slow-moving nature meant persistent gale/storm winds; numerous roofs were damaged (parts of school roofs in North Cork and Sligo peeled off). Over 200 flights were cancelled across Dublin, Cork, Shannon airports (reuters.com). Coastal flooding hit parts of Galway city as winds drove high seas on top of an already high tide. In the aftermath, clean-up crews dealt with debris and damage in almost every county. Storm Barra ranks among the most significant storms of the 2020s in Ireland for its combination of wind, duration, and disruption.
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Storm Eunice (February 2022)
Dates: 18 February 2022
Peak Wind: 137 km/h gust at Roches Point, Co. Cork. Storm Eunice was a short, intense storm that struck early on 18 Feb. A 137 km/h gust was officially recorded at Roches Point at 08:38 UTC, one of the highest on record for that station. Many parts of Munster saw gusts 110–130 km/h, and even Dublin observed ~106 km/h. Uniquely, Eunice also brought a spell of heavy snow in the northwest, creating blizzard conditions there while the south battled extreme winds.
Trees Felled: High. Countless trees fell, especially in counties Cork, Kerry, and Wexford. Tragically, a County Wexford council worker was killed by a falling tree while clearing debris, underscoring the danger. Because Eunice came mid-winter, trees were leafless but the wind intensity still uprooted numerous trees (many of which had been weakened by previous storms Dudley two days prior). Downed trees blocked roads and rail lines – Irish Rail had to clear trees off tracks on several routes.
Power Outages: Roughly 80,000 customers lost power by midday on 18 Feb. ESB Networks noted 80k outages, mainly in the southwest (Cork, Kerry, Limerick) (rte.ie). Although significant, this total was below Ophelia’s and reflected the storm’s shorter duration. By that night, the majority of supply was restored.
Notable Impacts: Met Éireann had issued Status Red wind warnings for Cork, Kerry, Waterford (and later for Clare) ahead of Eunice, prompting closures of schools and workplaces in those areas. The storm struck in the pre-dawn hours: many awoke to damaged roofs, shattered garden sheds/greenhouses, and trees down in gardens and roads. Dublin and Leinster were spared the worst winds but still saw travel disruption due to precautionary shutdowns. Impressively, a 10-meter wave buoy reading was logged off the south coast. Once Eunice passed, it left a brief calm, but its impact – especially the record winds in Cork (the highest 10-min mean wind on record at Roches Point, 106 km/h) (cli.fusio.net) – secured its place among the most severe storms of the decade. It was followed closely by Storm Franklin, making February 2022 exceptionally stormy.
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Storm Franklin (February 2022)
Dates: 20–21 February 2022
Peak Wind: 139 km/h gust at Mace Head, Co. Galway. Storm Franklin hit just two days after Eunice, targeting the northwest. A 139 km/h gust was observed at Mace Head on 20 Feb, and other western stations had gusts around 120–130 km/h. With already weakened trees and infrastructure from earlier storms, Franklin’s winds, though slightly less intense than Eunice, were still severely damaging.
Trees Felled: Moderate to high. Franklin brought down additional trees (notably a large beech fell in Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery, damaging gravestones). In the northwest, numerous trees that survived Eunice succumbed to Franklin’s gale-force gusts. By this point, emergency services were stretched with debris clearance from successive storms.
Power Outages: Around 30,000 customers lost power. Early on 21 Feb (Monday morning), about 29–30k homes and businesses were without electricity across Ireland (newstalk.com). ESB said ~18,000 remained out by Monday afternoon after repairs (meaning roughly 30k had been affected in total) (cli.fusio.net). Northern Ireland saw an additional 2,000 outages.
Notable Impacts: Coming so soon after Eunice, Storm Franklin prompted a rare Status Orange wind warning for much of the country on a Sunday. Travel disruptions included rail service cancellations in the west and numerous fallen-tree road blockages. In coastal Donegal and Sligo, Franklin caused coastal flooding – high seas and storm surge flooded a few seafront roads and car parks. By Monday, a cold wave following Franklin brought sub-zero chill and even snow to some areas, complicating cleanup (independent.ie). While Franklin on its own was a significant storm (one Met Éireann climatologist noted it would have been a headline event any other winter), it is often remembered in tandem with Eunice and Dudley as part of a damaging cluster in February 2022.
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Storm Agnes (September 2023)
Dates: 27–28 September 2023
Peak Wind: 117 km/h gust at Sherkin Island, Co. Cork. Storm Agnes was the first named storm of the 2023/24 season, and it tracked directly over Ireland. Sherkin Island clocked a 117 km/h gust mid-afternoon on 27 Sept (cli.fusio.net), and many southern stations had sustained gale winds (mean ~80–85 km/h) with frequent gusts 100–115 km/h. Notably, Roche’s Point had mean winds of 83 km/h (briefly reaching the “Status Red” threshold) during Agnes’s peak.
Trees Felled: Moderate. “Thousands of homes are without power as Storm Agnes…[and] the South and South East are the worst affected” due to downed lines, reported RTÉ News (m.facebook.com). This implies numerous trees or large branches fell onto lines in Cork, Waterford, Wexford, etc. Indeed, Cork County Council crews responded to many fallen trees blocking roads on 27 Sept. However, overall tree damage was not as widespread as in Ophelia or Ali.
Power Outages: On 27 Sept, “thousands” of customers lost power, though exact peak figures were lower than recent big storms. Early reports indicated roughly 10,000+ outages countrywide (with clusters of a few thousand in West Cork, and smaller clusters in Wicklow and Offaly). By the next day, only ~1,000 remained without power as ESB restored most faults quickly (thejournal.ie).
Notable Impacts: Storm Agnes caused flooding and structural damage in parts of the country. In Co. Derry (NI), a woman had to be rescued after her car was trapped by floodwaters, showing the heavy rain impact (irishtimes.com). In the Republic, strong winds damaged some buildings (roofs peeled off a few farm structures in Waterford, and signage/awnings torn in Dublin). Many flights and ferries were canceled as a precaution. Agnes also brought down a number of phone and broadband lines. While not a record-breaker, Storm Agnes was a significant early-season storm that reminded the country of the autumn gale season’s arrival.
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Storm Babet (October 2023)
Dates: 18–20 October 2023
Peak Wind: 100 km/h (estimated). Storm Babet’s influence on Ireland was felt mostly through rain. Winds along the south coast did gust 90–100 km/h (Yellow wind warnings), but Babet’s center and strongest winds hit Britain. Ireland’s east and south had blustery easterlies up to 80 km/h during the storm.
Trees Felled: Low. A few trees came down in Limerick and Cork, but wind damage was limited. The saturated ground from heavy rain caused some trees to topple, but overall Babet was not a major wind-felling event in Ireland.
Power Outages: Several hundred customers lost power in Ireland due to Babet. For example, on 18 Oct about 463 homes in County Limerick were without power as Babet’s rain and gusts affected the west (limerickpost.ie). Small outages were also recorded in parts of Cork and Kerry. The numbers were relatively minor (in the hundreds) compared to typical named storms.
Notable Impacts: The big story was flooding – Babet delivered intense, prolonged rainfall especially in counties Cork and Waterford. Midleton, Co. Cork, suffered a catastrophic flood on 18 October when over 100 mm of rain fell in 24 hours. The town center was chest-deep in water; over 100 properties (homes, shops) were inundated despite defensive works. The Irish Defence Forces were deployed to assist with evacuations in East Cork. Other parts of Cork and Waterford saw severe local flooding and road washouts. Thanks to warnings, there were no fatalities in Ireland (unlike Britain, which saw loss of life in Babet). Storm Babet highlighted vulnerabilities to extreme rainfall, coming just weeks after Agnes and showing that even without extreme winds, a named storm can cause major disruption via flooding.
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Storm Éowyn (January 2025)
Dates: 24 January 2025
Peak Wind: 183 km/h gust at Mace Head, Co. Galway. Storm Éowyn set a new all-time wind speed record for Ireland, with a 113 mph (183 km/h) gust recorded at Mace Head in the early hours of 24 Jan. This broke a record that had stood since 1945 (182 km/h at Kilkee/Foynes). Multiple stations across the country registered gusts well over 130 km/h – it was truly a nationwide wind event. Dublin Airport, for instance, had gusts over 100 km/h, and Roches Point saw ~155 km/h.
Trees Felled: Massive. Éowyn likely felled a record number of trees nationwide. While a precise count is not yet available, damage to forests and urban treescapes was “unprecedented” according to officials. Entire rows of trees were flattened in Galway, Mayo, and Donegal. In cities, hundreds of roadside trees were uprooted (Galway city’s parks were hard hit). The sheer scale of treefall was comparable to or exceeding Storm Darwin (2014).
Power Outages: 768,000 customers lost power – almost one-third of all Irish homes and businesses. This number dwarfs previous records. ESB Networks described the storm damage as “unprecedented,” with essentially the entire grid in some counties (e.g. Galway, Mayo, Clare) knocked out. Restoration was a massive effort: it took over a week to get everyone reconnected. Northern Ireland had an additional 240,000 outages.
Notable Impacts: A Status Red warning for wind for the entire country was in force – the first time ever for all counties simultaneously. The country effectively went into lockdown for a day: schools and offices closed, public transport halted, and people heeded advice to stay indoors. A capital-city scenario akin to Ophelia played out: Dublin’s streets were deserted at rush hour. Tragically, there was one fatality – a driver in Donegal was killed when a tree fell on his car (theguardian.com). Property damage was extensive: numerous buildings lost roofs, including farm structures and some older buildings whose roofs were “peeled off like tin cans.” An ice-skating rink structure near Dublin was completely destroyed by the wind. At sea, phenomenal waves (over 15 m) were recorded on weather buoys. Dublin Airport saw over 200 flight cancellations due to wind (reuters.com). In summary, Storm Éowyn was “probably among the severest Ireland has ever seen” (rte.ie)– breaking wind records and causing widespread disruption on a scale not experienced in living memory.
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Comparison of Storms (2015–2025)
The table below summarizes key statistics for each major storm, allowing a comparison of their intensity (peak wind gust), forest impact, and power outage extent:
| Storm (Date) | Peak Wind Gust | Trees Felled | Peak Power Outages | Notable Impacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond (Dec 2015) | ~130 km/h (w. Ireland) | – (primarily flooding event) | ~2,000 | Record rainfall; severe nationwide flooding |
| Frank (Dec 2015) | ~130 km/h (SW coasts) | – (some downed trees) | 13,000 | Major floods in Cork/SE; power/transport disruption. |
| Ophelia (Oct 2017) | 191 km/h (Fastnet Rock)
156 km/h (Roches Pt) |
“Countless” trees down nationwide | 385,000 | 3 fatalities; nation on Red alert; €70m damage |
| Emma (Mar 2018) | ~100 km/h (blizzard gusts) | Some tree limb breakage | ~24,000 (snow/ice related) | Historic snow (50+ cm); country shut down |
| Ali (Sept 2018) | 150+ km/h (Galway) | Extensive – trees down across Ireland | 186,000 | 2 deaths; widespread wind damage, travel chaos. |
| Callum (Oct 2018) | ~125 km/h (Atlantic coasts) | Moderate (coastal & some inland) | 60,000 | Coastal flooding from high tides; power and transport disrupted. |
| Hannah (Apr 2019) | 122 km/h (Galway) | High in SW (Kerry/Clare) | 33,000 | Late-season storm; SW counties hit by Red-warning winds. |
| Lorenzo (Oct 2019) | 107 km/h (Mayo) | Low (minimal tree damage) | ~5,000 | Ex-hurricane; extensive flooding in Cork, but limited wind damage. |
| Brendan (Jan 2020) | ~135 km/h (Cork/Kerry) | High (trees/downed lines across S&W) | ~132,000
(100k+ restored, 32k still out) |
Schools closed; coastal flooding and structural damage. |
| Ciara (Feb 2020) | ~130 km/h (Connacht/Ulster) | Moderate (scattered falls) | ~10,000 | Flooding and transport disruption; paired with Dennis. |
| Dennis (Feb 2020) | ~120 km/h (widely) | Moderate (waterlogged ground) | ~10,000 | Extreme rainfall caused major flooding (esp. Shannon basin). |
| Ellen (Aug 2020) | 143 km/h (Cork) | Very high (widespread in Munster) | ~194,000 | Summer storm; extensive damage in Cork; week-long outages. |
| Francis (Aug 2020) | ~100 km/h (Kerry/Wexford) | Low | “Hundreds” | Focus on flooding; followed Ellen by one week. |
| Barra (Dec 2021) | 135 km/h (Sherkin Isl.) | High (nationwide tree damage) | 59,000 | 2-day wind event; schools closed; major transport disruption. |
| Eunice (Feb 2022) | 137 km/h (Cork) | High (many trees down, 1 fatality) | 80,000 | Red warnings in South; record mean winds in Cork; heavy snow in North. |
| Franklin (Feb 2022) | 139 km/h (Galway) | Moderate (added to Eunice damage) | 30,000 | Third storm in a week; floods in Northwest; travel impacted. |
| Agnes (Sept 2023) | 117 km/h (Cork) | Moderate (esp. South/Southeast) | ~10,000 (est.) | Flooding and structural damage in South; first storm of season. |
| Babet (Oct 2023) | ~100 km/h (South coast) | Low (primary impact = rain) | ~500 | Severe flooding in Midleton and South; minimal wind damage. |
| Éowyn (Jan 2025) | 183 km/h (Galway)
(all-time record) |
Massive (nationwide; unprecedented treefall) | 768,000
(record) |
1 death; entire country Red alert; widespread structural destruction. |
(Sources: Met Éireann reports met.ie ,thejournal.ie, met.ie, cli.fusio.net,cli.fusio.net, theguardian.com; ESB Networks/utility updates and news reports, irishtimes.com, offalyexpress.ie, rte.ie, thejournal.ie, irishtimes.com, telegraph.co.uk, esb.ie, rte.ie, newstalk.com, reuters.com.)
Wind Speed Comparison
Storm Éowyn (Jan 2025) stands out with the highest wind gust (183 km/h) ever recorded in Ireland (theguardian.com), surpassing even Ophelia’s peak. Prior to Éowyn, Storm Ophelia (Oct 2017) held the modern record gust at 156 km/h on land (191 km/h off-coast) (met.ie) (irishtimes.com). Several others reached the 130–150 km/h range: Ali, Ellen, and Eunice all produced gusts in the mid-140s in places offalyexpress.ie) met.ie) cli.fusio.net). At the lower end, storms like Desmond and Babet had peak gusts around 100–130 km/h. It’s clear that Éowyn > Ophelia > Ali/Ellen were the extremes in terms of wind speed over the last decade.
Trees Felled Comparison
While precise figures are not available for most storms, qualitatively the worst tree damage occurred in Storm Éowyn (2025) – essentially a national-level event of treefall (comparable perhaps only to 2014’s Darwin outside our range). Other tree-damaging standouts include Storm Ophelia (2017) – which felled innumerable trees and caused huge cleanup operations met.ie) – and Storm Ali (2018), which tore down a great number of trees, especially given the full foliage (independent.ie). Summer Storm Ellen (2020) also caused extensive forest damage in Munster. In contrast, storms dominated by rain or winter storms when trees were bare (Desmond, Dennis, Franklin) saw relatively less tree loss. Overall, the “Big Three” for trees felled in 2015–2025 would be Éowyn, Ophelia, and Ali, with Ellen close behind – each of these resulted in widespread downed trees across multiple counties.
Power Outages Comparison
Storm Éowyn
Storm Éowyn (2025) caused by far the most power outages on record: 768,000 in the Republic (reuters.com) (over double Ophelia’s total). This reflects Éowyn’s exceptional intensity and breadth.
Storm Ophelia
The next most disruptive was Storm Ophelia at ~385,000 outages (irishtimes.com). Several others caused six-figure outages.
