Storm Isha: Red tornado warning issued in northern Ireland as thousands of homes without power, planes unable to land

Storm Isha has left thousands of homes in Ireland without power, causing disruptions in airport activity. Severe weather warnings are in effect across the UK and Ireland. According to the LBC, on January 21, 2024, at around 6 pm local time, the UK issued a 12-hour Met Office amber alert due to high "destructive" winds." They noted that these winds "could pose a potential danger to life."

Regarding Storm Isha, the Met Office in the UK indicated that western parts of the country might experience a tornado. This was based on information from the research organization Torro (Tornado and Storm Research Organisation).

Ireland, Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland, and northern England are designated as "tornado watch" zones according to Torro. Marco Petagna, a forecaster from the Met Office, told the PA news agency:

"There is a potential that we could see the odd isolated tornado largely tied in with the squally cold front mainly in western parts of the UK on Sunday evening. They (Strom Isha) can cause some significant damage but often on a very localised scale, they often don't tend to last very long."

With the Met Office cautioning about a slim possibility of Storm Isha's hitting western areas of the UK, individuals have been advised to remain indoors and avoid unnecessary traveling.

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'Tornado Watch': Storm Isha approaches with 80-100mph winds

Northern Ireland is placed under red 'Tornado Watch' as Storm Isha is approaching them. All the ferry crossings have been disrupted by Storm Isha. Anticipating powerful winds, with gusts reaching up to 100mph, P&O Ferries called off the 4 pm and 8 pm crossings from Larne to Cairnryan today, citing the "forecasted extreme weather conditions."

Air passengers are facing chaos as planes struggle to land safely amidst turbulent winds. Storm Isha's disruption extends to rail, sea, and air travel, with closures, cancellations, and delays affecting various services.

Forecasters have warned of damage to homes and buildings, falling trees, power outages, airborne debris, large waves, and localized flooding.

The Met Office reported wind speeds of 90mph in Capel Curig (north Wales), 76mph gusts in Loftus (North Yorkshire), and 75mph winds in Brizlee Wood (near Alnwick, Northumberland) and Emley (Huddersfield). Agencies in Cumbria are on standby for a potential major incident, and in Belfast, a person was struck by debris.

At around 5 pm local time on January 21, 2024, the red weather warning seemed to have taken effect. At that time, the metal clock tower situated atop the Thirteen on the Green bar in Eyre’s Square, Galway City, collapsed onto the pathway below.

A status orange wind warning is currently in effect nationwide, starting from 4 pm or 5 pm local time on Sunday and extending until 2 am or 3 am on Monday. According to LBC, Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said:

"We're expecting widespread gales of Storm Isha to affect the UK, amber warnings are in place for large parts of the country. There's the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down."

He added that there has been a wind warning put in place across all of the UK noting that it is "pretty unusual" for the entire country to be "under a blanket wind warning."

A convective discussion warning in 'yellow' has been issued for a significant portion of England. According to Chief Meteorologist, Dan Suri:

“Storm Isha will bring strong winds to the whole of the UK through Sunday and into Monday. The areas of particular concern are reflected by a large Amber severe weather warning which covers Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland, Wales, much of northern England as well as southwestern parts of England."

He added:

“In these regions we could see gusts frequently between 50-60mph and even up to 80mph in exposed coastal locations. As Storm Isha starts to move away on Monday morning very strong winds will also develop in the far southeast of England, bringing the risk of 70-80mph gusts here too in the early hours of Monday morning."

According to LBC, Network Rail has implemented 50mph speed restrictions on most routes to ensure passenger and train safety amid the risk of falling trees and debris on tracks. Storm Isha's disruptions are expected to persist into Monday morning. In Scotland, all services have been canceled after 7 pm, and there will be no Monday morning rush-hour services.

Incidents, such as a train hitting a tree at Crosshill near Glasgow and reports of a fallen tree on the overhead wires at Gartcosh near Cumbernauld led to prompted responses from Network Rail teams.

Disruption is impacting the Republic of Ireland as well. By noon on Sunday, a total of 83 flights at Dublin Airport have been canceled due to the severe weather conditions of Storm Isha.

Additional flights have been diverted to alternate airports, and some are circling in the airspace. Motorists in Northern Ireland are advised to stay vigilant, as fallen trees pose a risk on the roads. The Met Office has stated that Storm Isha will impact "everyone," emphasizing the widespread nature of its effects.