Storm Agnes pummeled Ireland and the UK as a bomb cyclone

Meghan Mussoline
·2 min read
Storm Agnes pummeled Ireland and the UK as a bomb cyclone

Storm Agnes, which was named by the UK Met Office on Monday, became the first named windstorm in over a year to slam portions of Ireland and the United Kingdom. According to AccuWeather meteorologists, the storm was a bomb cyclone as it moved northeastward across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland this week, unleashing fierce winds, heavy rainfall and pounding seas.

"The storm traveled across the north-central Atlantic and underwent bombogenesis Tuesday into Wednesday as it approached Ireland," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys said. Bombogenesis occurs when a storm system rapidly intensifies and its barometric pressure drops by at least 0.71 of an inch (24 millibars) in 24 hours.

At least one person had to be rescued by firefighters after she became trapped in her car by floodwaters, according to BBC News. Her car was found in the River Moyola in Draperstown, County Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, and 30 firefighters with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) were able to extract her and bring her to safety. BBC News reported that the woman was treated at a hospital for hypothermia and shock.

Rainfall amounts of 0.5 of an inch to 1.25 inches were observed across much of Agnes's path, Roys said.

It became so windy due to Storm Agnes that one plane could not land at Belfast City airport on Wednesday afternoon, according to The Independent. The easyJet flight instead had to be diverted back to Glasgow, Scotland.

The highest wind gust observed in the U.K. was 63 mph in St. Mary's, and in Ireland, wind gusts howled at 72 mph on Sherkin Island. Roys noted that Cork, Ireland, measured gusts of around 70 mph.

"Conditions are improving across the U.K. and even Ireland," Roys noted Thursday afternoon, local time.

In 2022, three back-to-back windstorms struck the U.K., turning deadly and cutting power to more than 1 million customers, BBC News reported. Storm Franklin hit in quick succession after storms Dudley and Eunice, all within a week's time.