Council services impacted by Storm Eowyn’s strong winds
There will be disruption to North Ayrshire Council services tomorrow (Friday 24 Jan) with Storm Eowyn expected to create dangerous conditions across the area.
The Met Office has upgraded its amber weather warning to a rare red alert covering the period from 10am to 5pm, meaning there is a potential risk of:
- Flying debris, resulting in danger to life
- Large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and homes
- Power cuts
- Damage to buildings and
- Closure of roads, bridges and railway lines.
Residents are advised to stay indoors as much as possible tomorrow, especially those living in coastal communities, and to delay travel plans until conditions improve.
The storm is expected to bring peak gusts of between 80mph and 90mph inland and up to 100mph along more exposed coasts and hills. As well as the strong winds, snow and rain are also expected.
Quote: The safety of our residents and staff comes first in emergency situations like this. We would advise everyone – where possible – to stay safe and stay at home. There will be disruption to some of our services, and we will update residents via our website and social media channels.
Quote from: Craig Hatton, Chief Executive of North Ayrshire Council
For safety reasons, the council will close all schools, nurseries, libraries and housing offices across North Ayrshire tomorrow.
There will be no household bin collections on Friday and information on alternative arrangements will be shared on the council’s official social media channels. Residents should NOT put bins out on the street.
All Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will be shut on Friday and Saturday.
All Customer Service Centres will also be closed but residents can still make contact online by contacting us or by calling 01294 310000 for assistance. However, the Health and Social Care Partnership will have a staff presence in each office should anyone need to contact the service urgently.
The council’s Building Services repairs team is postponing all non-essential council housing repairs but will be available over the weekend for emergency repairs.
Coastal flooding is predicted at Millport tomorrow and, as a precaution, residents are advised to erect any threshold flood barriers and any other flood resilience measures they have to help protect their properties.
The Met Office is advising residents that the storm and the time of its impact will be unpredictable.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “We reserve the issuing of red warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption, and that is the case with Storm Eowyn.
“While it will be widely very windy on Friday, with additional hazards from rain and snow, the strongest winds and most significant impacts are likely in Northern Ireland and central and southwestern parts of Scotland within the red warning areas, where winds could gust 80 to 90mph quite widely for a time, and potentially up to 100mph for exposed coasts in particular.
“It’s important to note that even those away from the immediate red warning areas will still likely see disruptive weather, with travel plans likely to be severely impacted, as well as the possibility of power cuts for some.”
Published: 23 January 2025