Storm Darragh turns deadly in England, while severe gusts with speeds of up to 80-90 miles per hour erupt across the UK and Ireland
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Storm Darragh turns deadly in England, while severe gusts with speeds of up to 80-90 miles per hour erupt across the UK and Ireland

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Storm Darragh brought gusts of up to 50mph around London, causing difficult landings at Heathrow Airport. (Video courtesy of BigJetTV via Storyful)

PRESTON, England – A powerful storm that hit Ireland and the United Kingdom turned deadly as wind gusts reached speeds of over 80-90 miles per hour.

Lancashire Police say a man was killed when a tree fell on the A59 motorway and crashed into his van in Preston on Saturday morning. Wind gusts between 60 and 65 miles per hour were recorded in the area at times.

The cyclone, Storm Darragh, brought even stronger winds to Ireland and the west coast of England and Wales.

  • CARDIFF, WALES – DECEMBER 7: A Porsche is seen after being damaged by a falling tree on Cathedral Road on December 7, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the weekend. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
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  • CARDIFF, WALES – DECEMBER 7: A Porsche is seen after being damaged by a falling tree on Cathedral Road on December 7, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the weekend. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
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  • Waves crash against the sea wall and lighthouse in Porthcawl, south Wales, on December 7, 2024, as Storm Darragh brings winds of almost 90 miles per hour to western Wales and northwest England. Strong winds and heavy rain have hit western parts of the UK, causing widespread travel disruption. (Photo by Ben STANSALL/AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
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  • BALLYCLARE, NORTHERN IRELAND – DECEMBER 7: Workers cut down a fallen tree blocking the access road to the M1 to Belfast on December 7, 2024 in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the weekend. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
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  • PORTHCAWL, WALES – DECEMBER 7: Waves crash against the harbor wall in Porthcawl, Wales on December 7, 2024. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the weekend. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
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  • An arborist cuts down a tree blocking a road in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, on December 7, 2024, as Storm Darragh brings winds of almost 90 miles per hour to western Wales and northwest England. Britain’s Met Office had issued a rare red warning for strong winds overnight into Saturday morning (0300 to 1100 GMT), covering parts of Wales and southwest England. Tens of thousands of people across the UK were without power on Saturday morning after Storm Darragh hit the country with strong winds and caused pre-Christmas travel disruption. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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  • An arborist cuts down a tree blocking a road in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, on December 7, 2024, as Storm Darragh brings winds of almost 90 miles per hour to western Wales and northwest England. Britain’s Met Office had issued a rare red warning for strong winds overnight into Saturday morning (0300 to 1100 GMT), covering parts of Wales and southwest England. Tens of thousands of people across the UK were without power on Saturday morning after Storm Darragh hit the country with strong winds and caused pre-Christmas travel disruption. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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  • Storm Darragh damage to the back garden of a house in the Lenadoon area of ​​west Belfast following strong winds. Millions have been warned to stay at home, thousands are without power and trains have been grounded as the government’s “risk to life” warning triggered by Storm Darragh came into effect. Picture date: Saturday December 7, 2024. (Photo by PA/PA Images via Getty Images)
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  • A photo taken on December 7, 2024 shows a fallen tree blocking a road in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, as Storm Darragh brings winds of almost 90 miles per hour to the west of Wales and northwest England. Britain’s Met Office had issued a rare red warning for strong winds overnight into Saturday morning (0300 to 1100 GMT), covering parts of Wales and southwest England. Tens of thousands of people across the UK were without power on Saturday morning after Storm Darragh hit the country with strong winds and caused pre-Christmas travel disruption. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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  • Pedestrians walk past a fallen tree blocking Greenbank Street in Liverpool on December 7, 2024, as Storm Darragh brings winds of almost 90 miles per hour to western Wales and northwest England. Britain’s Met Office had issued a rare red warning for strong winds overnight into Saturday morning (0300 to 1100 GMT), covering parts of Wales and southwest England. Tens of thousands of people across the UK were without power on Saturday morning after Storm Darragh hit the country with strong winds and caused pre-Christmas travel disruption. (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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  • BLACKWOOD – DECEMBER 6: In this illustration, residents of some parts of Wales have received a RED weather warning as Storm Darragh approaches the United Kingdom on December 6, 2024 in Blackwood, Wales, United Kingdom. Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain over the weekend. (Photo by Huw Fairclough/Getty Images)
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According to data from ESB Networks, almost 400,000 people were without power in Ireland on Saturday morning, but around 225,000 people were without power again by the afternoon. Widespread gusts of 60 to 70 mph were reported across much of the country. Along the northwest coast, gusts reached 70 mph in Dublin and 87 mph in Mace Head.

“The impact is nationwide and there has been significant damage to power infrastructure to date,” ESB officials said in a news release Saturday. “Based on our experience with previous significant weather events, we anticipate that recovery will take several days and it is likely that the most affected areas will take longer.”

BALLYCLARE, NORTHERN IRELAND – DECEMBER 7: An airport shuttle bus is pictured after it left the road in high winds and crashed into a house in Templepatrick on December 7, 2024 in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

The gusts were even stronger as Storm Darragh crossed the Irish Sea and reached the coast of Wales, where a rare “red” weather warning was in effect. Britain’s Met Office reported peak gusts of 93 mph at Capel Curig and 92 mph at Aberdaron.

Damaging winds blew through the heart of England with gusts of 40-50mph, in some places almost 60mph.

While attempting to land at London’s Heathrow Airport, the pilots battled gusts of nearly 50 miles per hour, making for some nerve-wracking moments.

Planes have difficulty landing in Storm Darragh

Planes struggle to land at London’s Heathrow Airport during Storm Darragh.

(BigJetTV via Storyful/FOX Weather)

Nearly 200,000 more people in Wales and England were without power, according to PowerOutage.com.

Photos from across England showed scores of fallen trees and toppled fences as strong gusts swept across the country.

Part of a fallen tree that hit a car on Greenbank Road in Liverpool. Millions have been warned to stay at home, thousands are without power and trains have been grounded as the government’s “risk to life” warning triggered by Storm Darragh came into effect. Picture date: Saturday December 7, 2024. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

Weather conditions gradually improved from west to east over the weekend.

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