Page published Mon 1 Sep 2025

From the drop down menu above, you can access a summary page for each of the storm seasons since the project began together with major storms prior to the 2015/16 season. Highlighted capital letters (in the first column of the table) indicate that the storm was named by the Western Group, which includes Met Éireann.

Ireland's Storms

The storm naming season begins on 1st September each year and ends on the 31st August the following year. The Name Our Storm campaign was first introduced by Met Éireann and the Met Office (UK) on 1 September 2015. Met Éireann and the Met Office were joined by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) in its fifth storm season 2019/20. Since the introduction of the storm naming system, there are now ten completed seasons with a total of 82 named storms.

• The busiest seasons were 2015/16, 2017/18, and 2023/24, each with 11 or more named storms.
• 2022/23 was relatively quiet with four named storms, while 2021/22 had seven named storms compressed into just over 3 months (86 days).
• The earliest named storm was Aileen with winds peaking on Tuesday 12 September 2017.
• The 2024/25 season had six named storms by late August, a quieter season overall.

In January 2025, Éowyn brought the strongest winds ever recorded in Ireland with gusts up to 184 km/h breaking an 80-year old record. Other extremes from the storms can be found within the pages for each season (click on drop-down menu). The following table gives the absolute extreme values for a number of different records during previous named storms.

Table of observed extremes during named storms

Highest land sustained wind speed	Highest land gust wind speed	Highest daily rainfall total	Lowest daily air temperatures	Lowest mean sea level pressure	Highest individual wave
Éowyn Fri 24 Jan 2025 142 km/h*	Éowyn Fri 24 Jan 2025 184 km/h*	Charley Mon 25 Aug 1986 200.2 mm	Emma Thu 1 Mar 2018 -9.7 °C	Éowyn Fri 24 Jan 2025 940.0 hPa	Franklin Sun 20 Feb 2022 29.5 m

* Subject to quality control and national record verification

• Many named storms occur in meteorological winter in Ireland (December, January and February). No named storms have occurred in May since the named storm project began. Other quieter storm months are March and April.
• Ireland sits on the eastern edge of the North Atlantic storm track, the main highway for mid-latitude depressions that form and deepen over the ocean.
• We can expect an average of around eight named storms per season. Of course this does vary, as 2022/23 had 4 named storms and 2023/24 had up to 14 named storms.
• The longest number of days between consecutively named storms (in the same season) was between Kathleen (6 April 2024) and Lilian (23 August 2024) at 139 days.
• There have been extremely short gaps between storms, with winds peaking during Elin on 9 December 2023, then being immediately followed by Fergus and its winds peaking on 10 December 2023. In January 2024, Isha (on the 21st) was followed quickly by Jocelyn (on the 23rd).
• The North Atlantic hurricane season peaks in August/September, while Ireland rarely sees the transitioning remnants of these storms. An example in recent years was Ellen (merged from tropical storm Kyle) in August 2020. Two ex-hurricanes have become extra-tropical and reached Ireland as Ophelia and Lorenzo both in October and in the years 2017 and 2019 respectively.
• Back in 1839, the Night of the Big Wind swept away thousands of homes, wrecked ships and caused hundreds of deaths. People then remembered it as the worst storm in centuries. It occurred at night and came without warning.

How storms shape Ireland

Storms shape the island, not just by knocking down trees or cutting off power; along the west coast, big waves from Atlantic storms slowly eat away at cliffs and move beaches around. Heavy rain from storms can make rivers flood and even change their paths over time. Strong winds and rain can also wash soil off hills and carry it into valleys. If you look at old maps of Ireland compared with new ones, you may be able to identify how storms have changed coastlines and land over the years.

Climate change and future storms

Climate change is adding fuel to storms due to warmer ocean temperatures and more moisture in the atmosphere. Sea level rise is expected to increase storm surge and coastal flooding risk around Irish coasts.

Safety Advice During Storms

• During storms it is safest to stay indoors and keep away from windows in case of flying debris.
• Avoid going near trees, walls or power lines as they can fall in strong winds.
• Never try to drive through flooded roads because the water can be deeper and faster than it looks.
• Keep a torch and charged phone ready in case the power goes out.
• Stay up to date with the latest forecast and warnings for your region.

Definitions Used

• Peak impact date was based upon the date of highest gust wind speed observed during the event.
• Sustained land wind speeds (10-minute mean) are shaded according to the Beaufort land-wind scale:
  Near Gale     Gale     Stong Gale     Storm     Violent Storm     Hurricane
• Wind speeds are stored in database as knots.
• MSLP refers to hourly mean sea level pressure (hPa).
• Land-observations are daily (00-00 UTC) from the primary (synoptic) meteorological station network.
• Highest Individual Wave (m) was the height from trough to crest. For buoy information, see www.met.ie/forecasts/marine-inland-lakes/buoys/buoy-locations.

Contacts

Inside the storm season pages, you will find a table of extremes for each season at the primary climate reference stations. If a storm statement was produced for that named storm, you will find the PDF report underneath the name below. You can request a storm statement by contacting Climate Services on enquiries@met.ie.