STORM Éowyn has been described as a weather bomb, a phenomenon that produces violent winds strong enough to bring down trees.
According to the Met Office, the unofficial term describes when the central pressure inside a larger low-pressure system drops rapidly within 24 hours, a process known as explosive cyclogenesis.The rapid acceleration of air caused by the jet stream high up in the atmosphere can remove air from a central column, reducing the weight and causing the pressure to fall at sea level.
Storm Éowyn live: Updates on road closures, flights and emergency information as red weather warning brings ‘threat to life’
This causes air to be sucked in from surrounding regions, causing faster and faster rotation – likened to when ice skaters spin fast by drawing their arms in.
The resulting winds then peak over a period of a few hours, with potentially destructive effects.
The Met Office add that the recent change to conditions have been caused by a powerful jet stream pushing the low pressure across the Atlantic and towards the UK, following a recent cold spell over North America.
The “weather bomb” of Storm Éowyn will develop while still out over the Atlantic on Thursday and be “a mature feature” by the time it hits the UK and Ireland on Friday morning.
