The UK has been hammered by the second named storm of 2024 in just the third weekend of January.
Amid amber weather warnings about high winds and yellow warnings re heavy rain, Storm Isha came in from the north and travelled south, leaving at least two people dead, cutting power to thousands and bringing travel havoc to the air, rail and roads.
Rail
The entire rail service was cancelled in Scotland, which saw winds of up to 90 miles per hour (144 km/h). Damage inspections must take place before services can resume in many places. Trains in the south, were also affected, including services to major airports.
The UK is under widespread warnings as Storm #Isha brings heavy rain and gusts of wind reaching up to 99mph.#StormIsha #IshaStorm #CycloneIsha #Ireland #IshaCyclone #IrelandIsha pic.twitter.com/xWIxLX8plP
— know the Unknown (@imurpartha) January 22, 2024
Air travel
At airports and in the air across the country, hundreds of flights were affected by go-around landing attempts, diversions and cancellations. According to Flightradar24, Dublin airport (DUB) (141) and London Heathrow (LHR) (116) saw the highest numbers of flight cancellations, though these were relatively few as a proportion of flights to those busy hubs.
Flights aborted landing at Dublin Airport due to Storm Isha
— Borneo Bulletin (@borneo_bulletin) January 23, 2024
📹: Sky News & Robbie Kane
💻: Adeel Azman
#worldnews #borneobulletin #topheadlines #headlines #StormIsha #Storm #Isha #Dublin #Ireland #Airplane #Plane #AbortLanding #DublinAirport #AviatonTok #Lufthansa pic.twitter.com/EYMzUGqatM
As the storm moved south, Amsterdam’s Schiphol (AMS) airport also wrote off dozens of Monday’s flights as the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, braced for strong winds too.
Roads
Roads across the British Isles were flooded, hit by high coastal waters and blocked by wind-felled trees. Two people, an 84-year-old man and a man in his sixties, are known to have died when their vehicles hit trees. Authorities warned people never to attempt to drive through standing floodwater and to avoid unnecessary journeys.
‘Isha certainly packed a punch!’
— GB News (@GBNEWS) January 22, 2024
Home & Security Editor @markwhiteTV reports on the fallout from Storm Isha, including terrified passengers aboard flights and ferries, along with travel delays from debris on roads and rails across the UK.
📺 Freeview 236, Sky 512, Virgin 604 pic.twitter.com/KaNHuApllk
Meanwhile, rescue services in rural areas and places popular for hiking were on high alert. At Fairfield Horseshoe, a classic northeastern England Lake District looped ridge walk, multiple teams, including the RAF and the coastguard, were forced to work “at the very edge of operational safety” to rescue two walkers injured after falls and trapped by the storm.
Why and how are storms named?
The Brits and Irish have been working together on a named storm system since 2015, and the Dutch joined them in 2019. The idea is to engage more people with the dangers posed by winter storms. Names are chosen ahead of the autumn and winter season and listed alphabetically. Storm Isha is the ninth storm of the season to meet the naming criteria, which includes the storm having the potential for enough disruption or damage to bring an amber or higher safety warning.
Storms are named at the place they originate and those that have already been named elsewhere, for example cyclones or hurricanes, are not renamed when they hit Europe. Names are often nominated by the public and usually alternate between “male” and “female” names. This year’s list however includes names inspired by the meteorologists, researchers, scientists, science writers, and even civil servants “who work to keep people safe in times of severe weather”.
