Live Updates: Storm Éowyn and its impact on Donegal

5:39pm - Lots of traffic updates - Trees down at Black Farm in Buncrana crew on Site, Please approach with care; Brea Road Blocked over night by fallen Trees, Roads Crews will return to clear in the Morning, please divert; Road partially blocked Ard Colgan to Cherry Avenue, Carndonagh due to fallen trees. DCC Area Roads Team onsite and hope to have fully cleared by Saturday 25th January 2025 @13:00; L-5781 Maherdrumman closed due to fallen trees and eircom poles. DCC Roads Area Team on site. Road will remain closed to 15:00 Saturday 25th January 2025; Lenamore Road Blocked by Fallen Trees over night, please use diversions; The Drumaghoagh to Bunagee Road in Letterkenny will be blocked due to fallen trees until at least tomorrow and Cullion Rd to Wood Rd in Letterkenny blocked until tomorrow due to fallen tree. Traffic advised to take alternative route

5:13pm - Very sad news coming out of Raphoe this evening - Man tragically killed by falling tree in east Donegal

5pm - Tree Down Ard Colgan,Carndonagh. Road Blocked DCC Roads Area Team onsite. Road to be open 18:30.

4:51pm -Tree has been removed and the Kilmacrennan to Milford Road has being reopened to traffic

4:35pm - All Donegal Winter Maintenance designated gritting routes will be gritted from 5pm, today, Friday

4:33pm - The Ballyare Bridge to Milford Road through Tully Mount is Blocked by fallen trees. Traffic are advised to use alternative routes. Also, the R249 Ramelton to Ballyare Bridge Road is blocked at Claragh with Fallen Trees. Again, traffic are advised to use alternative route

4:30pm - There are trees blocking the inbound land on the R246 Ramelton to Milford Road between the Fanad Access Junction and Milford Town. Traffic is advised to drive with caution

4:16pm - Lots of trees down on roads Culdaff to Carrowmena Road; blocking the R238 between Gleneely to Moville Road. DCC Roads Area Team currently on site. Road to re-open at 18:30; the R255 Glenveagh Termon to Glenveagh Road is blocked with a fallen tree traffic are advised to take alternative route and the R246 Milford Kilmacrennan Road is blocked at Ballyscanlon with a fallen tree, so traffic are advised to take alternative routes

4:15pm - Trees down along N15 blocking carriageway. Road Crews on site, please drive with caution

4:14pm - Damage to roof at the Primary Care Centre, Donegal Town

4:13pm - Trees felled due to high winds are blocking the road in The Mall, Ballyshannon. Efforts to clear the roads will begin after the storm and red weather warnings have passed and it is safe to proceed.

4:12pm - Eir have told customers:"Storm Éowyn has caused significant and widespread disruptions to telecommunications services across Ireland. The storm’s severity has resulted in approximately 26,000 fixed voice faults and 63,000 fixed broadband faults, primarily due to power outages at exchanges and on our core network. This has left approximately 160,000 homes and businesses without broadband connectivity. There are outages at approximately 30% of mobile network sites. ESB has confirmed that at least 725,000 homes and businesses are currently without power, further compounding the situation.

"To support our customers during this challenging time, eir has deployed backup power to 1,300 Fixed Network sites and 200 Mobile Network sites. eir has commenced mobile generator deployment where it is safe to do so and our teams remain on standby to restore services promptly once conditions permit.

"Service restoration for core and mobile networks will proceed as a priority. It is expected that there will be a significant number of individual faults in addition to this, but the full impact of this will only become clear after power is restored and after resolution teams have prioritised making fallen poles and lines safe. Each individual fault will require a separate repair visit, and it will take some time for the full picture to emerge."

3.59pm - Met Éireann has issued a status yellow warning for snow and ice for Donegal

3.34pm - A tree is down on the N13 near An Grianan Hotel at Burt - council services are en route and motorists are advised to drive with care

3.31pm - The R238 at Fahan is blocked by fallen trees - Donegal County Council’s roads service is mobilising and motorists are asked to use diversion

3.57pm  - At one point on Friday afternoon 90% of Donegal homes and businesses were without power

2.55pm - Water supply to parts of the Finn Valley has been affected by Storm Éowyn after strong winds affected operations at a water treatment plant

2.14pm - In Kilcar at Drimnafinagle and Castlecarn (‘The Line’ above Kilcar) - there has been a partial wall collapse with large stones strewn across the road near Drimnafinagle roundabout - limbs of trees are down along the length of same road partially blocking sections, while at Keenaghan, the limb of a tree is down partially blocking the road

2.10pm - A tree is down and blocking the road at Park View Drive in Letterkenny. Donegal County Council says work to clear the road will commence as soon as possible when it is safe to do so

2.05pm - Local Link services in Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim have been cancelled for the rest of Friday and it is hoped that all services will recommence on Saturday

1.57pm - Electricity poles and wires are down at Castleforward, Newtowncunningham

1.24pm  - Donegal county councillor Joy Beard was one of the defective concrete blocks homeowners who sought emergency accommodation overnight on Thursday

12:45pm -  Connacht GAA Air Dome destroyed as Storm Éowyn tears through Mayo

12:37pm - More than 800,000 homes and businesses on island of Ireland are without power, with ESB warning some will be powerless for a week

12:18am - Ramelton Road, Letterkenny - Trees down near Tara Court road presently passable. Works will commence here later today if it is safe to do so.

12:16am - Tree down partially blocking the white cross road linking Annagry / Ranafast.

12:08am - Thorn Road, Letterkenny Trees down road blocked. Works will commence here later today if it is safe to do so

12:05pm - Tree down at Drimlaught, Donegal Town

12 noon - As Storm Éowyn passes through the country and clean-up operations get underway, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is urging that the immediate clean-up operation be left with the emergency services and professional operators who have the necessary competence to undertake the work safely.

Chainsaws are essential equipment for removing fallen trees and branches, but there are serious dangers associated with their use. While well-intentioned members of the public may be tempted to help, the HSA strongly advises that only trained and competent operators equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) handle chainsaws.

According to Mark Cullen, Chief Inspector with the HSA, “If you don’t have the proper training or equipment to safely use a chainsaw, don’t take the risk and instead engage with emergency and professional services. Farmers in particular may be tempted to deal with fallen trees on their land or on adjoining roads. Personal safety must be the main priority and I strongly urge only those with the necessary skills to undertake work with chainsaws”.

11:56am - Power out in Meenbanad, Burtonport

11:42am - Craic on Muff facebook page has shared: Toppled tree at main junction in Muff has taken power lines down with it. Be careful when returning out after this storm.

11:40am - A large beech tree at Drumcliff Terrace in Donegal Town has fallen into the Bank Walk

11:38am - N15 Donegal town to Ballyshannon - There are debris, branches and trees down on hard shoulder. Extreme caution advised if travelling during and after this severe weather event.

11:34am - The R236 is blocked, Convoy to Raphoe, near Braehead Waterfall

11:33am - Murvagh and Mullanasole - Roads blocked by fallen trees - Extreme caution advised.

11:32am - Lurgybrack Road N13 at National School Trees down blocking the road in Letterkenny. Works will commence here approximately 2pm if it is safe to do so

11:32am - Pettigo Road / R-232 Road blocked by fallen trees in multiple locations - Extreme caution advised.

11:31am - Roshine Brae Maghery, Dungloe impassible due to fallen tree

11:27am - Great gesture from Caisleáin Óir, who have invited locals to make use of hotel facilties 'with our compliments'

11:13am - County councillor  Micheál Mac Giolla Easbuig has shared a photo: Road Blocked - Tree Down - R251 Dún Lúiche on the Gaoth Dobhair side of the village

11:10am - No power now in Ballyshannon, Glencolmcille and in the Twin Towns

11:07am - Electricity wires and boxes just blew up close to Glenwood Park  in Letterkenny, tress falling everywhere in surrounding fields

11:05am - Story from earlier, in case you missed it - Gardaí confirm 'serious road traffic collision' on the N14, north of Lifford

11am - This video was shared of Fintra, the home of Killybegs GAA club, by Barry O'Hara

10:54am - As the UK and Ireland are battered by Storm Eowyn, causing disruption to transport, Cirium, the aviation analytics firm, has revealed the number of current flight cancellations across the UK/Ireland. As of 10am GMT 1,070 flights have been cancelled so far today to and from UK/Irish airports – that’s 20% of all scheduled flights.

10:49am - Hearing reports of a lot of power outages now, at Drumboe, Stranorlar; Lough Eske, Donegal Town and Brenter, Dunkineely

10:40am - Road partially blocked at Cronkeerin, Donegal Road, Ardara

10.21am: "Trees felled due to high winds are blocking the road in the Clarcam area," says Donegal County Council. "Efforts to clear the roads will begin after the storm and red weather warnings have passed and it is safe to proceed."

10.10am: Around 38,000 homes and businesses across Donegal are without power with the county in a status red warning for wind due to Storm Éowyn, reports Declan Magee here

10.07am: Tree down on N13 at Lurgybrack Road still passable, says Donegal County Council

10.01am: Latest update from An Garda Síochána: "A tree is down on the N13 (Main Road) in Burt and also on the R238 in Fahan and the road is blocked as a result. Many other roads across Donegal have fallen trees on them also"

9.58am: Road Blocked - Tree Down - L-1613 Loughanure to Meenamarragh Road

9.41am: Latest from Met Eireann: Wind observations at 9am, excluding the offline stations. Max gusts (km/h): - Finner Donegal 150 (Red); - Knock 133 (Red). Highest mean speeds (Red)  - Finner Donegal 98

9.36am: The R236 Raphoe-Convoy road is currently blocked due to a fallen tree

9.34am: From Donegal County Council: Tree Down - "R258 Closclady Road - Near Old Post Office"

9.32am: Wind speeds have increased in the Finn Valley area in the last while and some residents say the gusts are so bad "the windows are shaking"

9.20am: The public are being warned of a low-hanging cable on the road into Newtowncunningham

9.20am: There is a tree fallen close to the Applegreen service station in St Johnston

9.19am: "Power out dunkineely since 4am," a Facebook poster tells us

9.17am: 

9am and we are now in serious red territory in #Donegal #Letterkenny #StormEowyn pic.twitter.com/c3ElpAl42s

— Jimmy Stafford (@JimmystaffordDJ) January 24, 2025

9.10am: There is a tree down on the main road into Kilmacrennan from the Letterkenny side. 

9.07am: From Met Eireann: "Please note that our Red and Orange warning are valid in parallel. Red Level Warnings expire for some counties at 10 or 11AM, and but the Orange warning continues for them. From then on, Orange and Yellow warnings apply for various regions, and Donegal experiences Red until 2pm."

8:52am - Electricity is flickering in Letterkenny quite a lot. "Power on but flickering getting very rough out there gusts are frightening in Drumkeen," a Facebook poster

8:47am - You know it's bad when the ESB Power Outages website is down.

8:32am - The Maximum gusts (km/h) in Finner are now 142, with Malin at 122.

8:30am - Carrigans, Killea & St Johnston Community Crime Alert have just shared: "There’s a tree down across the road just before the An Grianan hotel on the Burt side, it’s only the hard shoulder you can pass on it’s just on the corner after the post office hard to see until your on top of it. Breenagh to Lk Hospital is relatively clear apart from debris/branches in Ballymacool.
There is a heavy tree subsiding about 1km off the N56 heading towards Glenveagh near Termon. It could be a danger to lorries in particular. There is a tree down blocking the road at Moyle, Newtowncunningham. The tin fence at the building site at the Mountain Top is blown out on the road. Drive with care."

8:23am - There is a tree down in Kilmacreannan, blocking the road

8:13am - Donegal Airport wish to advise that in the interest of our staff safety, the airport will be closed for the duration of the Status Red weather alert. The current timeframe for this is from 7am to 2pm on Friday. Passengers should check directly with their airline in relation to their flight status, as there will be no telephone support available from the airport during this period of time.

Passengers should also monitor the Met.ie website for the latest updates on weather warnings. The Management team have taken the decision to close the airport due to the forecasted severity of this weather event, we are sure that the general public will understand that the safety of our staff has to be our priority.

8:11am - Storm Éowyn update nationally: 715,000 homes, farms and businesses are now without power.

"There has been unprecedented, widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure so far with power outages nationwide now affecting 715,000 customers as of 8am," ESB Networks say. "We anticipate significant further outages as Storm Éowyn continues to track across the country"

8:06am - A Facebook user has confirmed the power is now out in Bruckless and Carrick in the south-west of the county, although tellingly, further north, Ballindrait/Lifford is out and winds are described as "extreme"

7:55pm - Power out in Kilcar, and also in Ballinta. North Donegal seems to be getting the best of it - so far - with the storm moving it's way northwards

7:50am - Reports of power out in Laghey and lights are flickering in Letterkenny

7:45am - Top gusts from Met Éireann at 7am were at Knock and Malin in Mayo and Finner in Donegal
Max gusts (km/h): - Knock 141; Finner Donegal 133 and Malin 199

7:36am - "Scary gusts here in Tullintain, near Killybegs. Power still on," a poster on Facebook says

7:33am - A gust of 183 km/h (114 mph) was recorded at Mace Head, Co. Galway, at 5am, marking a provisional new record for the strongest wind gust ever in Ireland

7:27am - Contact has been made to our socials that there is no power on Arranmore, Inver, Raphoe and Ballintra

7:22am - Gardí confirm 'serious road traffic collision' on the N14, north of Lifford

7:15am - 1,744 Customers are affected by outages in Bundoran; 1279 in Donegal Town and 2154 at Drumbar. 

7:06am - An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny last night posted: "Due to the Red Weather Warning in place for Donegal, we will remain closed on Friday until 5.30 pm when we will reopen. The Wizard of Oz showing at 7.30pm will go ahead as planned but we will be monitoring the situation closely an make any updates if anything changes."

7:03am - 1,062 Customers are affected by a power outage in Ballyshannon. Derrybeg is still out with 816 impacted.

7am - If travel is a must, McGinley Coach Hire posted of today's Donegal to Dublin services:

"Due to the Red weather warning in effect, we regret to inform you that all services on the Donegal to Dublin route will be cancelled during the earlier part of the day. The revised services will be as follows: First service from Letterkenny to Dublin: 14:45; First service from Moville to Dublin: 15:30; First service from Dublin to Donegal: 15:30

The safety of our passengers and staff is our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding during this time.
If you have a reservation on any affected service tomorrow, you will receive an email from us shortly with details of your options. For flexibility, you can also amend your booking directly on our website by selecting "Amena My Booking."

6:55am - Donegal County Council advise the public that road conditions throughout the county are treacherous this morning with fallen trees on numerous routes. Advice is to remain in place and not to travel until this storm has passed and it is safe to do so.

6:54am - The highest gust record of 182 km/h set in 1945 at Foynes Co Limerick has provisionally been broken 

6:52am - N14 Lifford to Letterkenny Road is impassable at Feddyglass (Ballinalecky to Whitecross) due to trees down. Motorists should seek alternative routes for essential travel. Diversions from Ballinalecky crossroads. 

6:45am - Storm Éowyn is predicted to be the worst in Ireland since Storm Debbie caused havoc in 1961, saw 18 people lose their lives when the joint-highest ever national wind reading was recorded in Donegal. Please click on the link below for a lookback, written in November 2023.

READ NEXT: When Donegal was hit by Hurricane Debbie - Ireland's worst storm in living memory

6:41am - An Garda Siochana here in Donegal have shared contact numbers for those in need.

"Please stay safe," they said. "Remain indoors and do not travel for the duration of the red warning. The following Garda Stations are open on a 24/7 basis: Letterkenny 074-9167100; Milford 074-9153060; Buncrana 074-9320540; Ballyshannon 071-9858530. Call 999 or 112 in the event of an emergency."

6:40am - Pat the Cope Gallagher TD posted snowfall late last night - Snowing on the Donegal -Frosses - Kilraine Road
"Take Care," he added.

6:35am - Séimi Ó Dubhthaigh, Donegal Heritage posted: "Update at 5.00hrs from Carrickfinn Observation Post. Lowest barometric recording here ever- 27in. My humble static abode is riding the storm well, Mama Cat is curled up underneath the heater."

A barometer is a device that reads atmospheric pressure. It uses liquid mercury to predict the weather by tracking atmospheric pressure changes resulting from the movement of warm and cold weather systems. A barometric reading in the range of 29.80 and 30.20 inHg can be considered normal, and normal pressure is associated with steady weather, 27 shows extremely low pressure. Rapidly falling pressure indicates a storm is coming. "This one seen many’s the gale since 1906," Séimi posted.

6:32am - Nationally, Storm Éowyn damage impacts 560,000 homes, farms and businesses: ESB Networks teams will commence restoring power where safe to do so, according to ESB. "There has been unprecedented, widespread and extensive damage to electricity infrastructure so far with power outages nationwide affecting 560,000 customers as of 6:00am," they said. "We anticipate significant further outages as Storm Éowyn moves across the country."

6:30am - Here is a tracker which shows the exact time Storm Éowyn will hit Donegal in weather latest

6:25am - There are currently power outages in Convoy (1,541 customers affected), Dungloe (1,677), Derrybeg (816) and Killybegs/Dunkineely (831). ESB Networks says the estimated restore time for all is "currently unknown."

6:15am - On Wednesday it was learned that Donegal was headed for a status red weather warning on Friday with Storm Éowyn on the way, Met Éireann have said.

The Extreme Weather Warning for Wind for Donegal is in place from Friday at 6am till Friday at 3pm.

"Gale to storm force southerly winds becoming westerly will bring severe, damaging and extremely destructive gusts in excess of 130km/h," Met Éireann said.

"Impacts include danger to life, extremely dangerous travelling conditions, unsafe working conditions, disruption and cancellations to transport, many fallen trees, significant and widespread power outages, impacts to communications networks, cancellation of events, structural damage, wave overtopping and coastal flooding in low-lying and exposed areas."