When Ellen struck: Ireland’s record-breaking August storm

Five years ago on this date, August 19th, one of the most severe summer storms since Hurricane Charley in 1986 impacted Ireland.

Storm Ellen was named by Met Éireann on 18 August as a rapidly deepening and unseasonal Atlantic low-pressure system approached Ireland. It formed after merging with the remnants of Tropical Storm Kyle and intensified quickly while interacting with the jet stream.

The storm, with a central pressure of 972 hPa, made landfall near Cork around 9pm on 19 August and tracked northwards overnight. It brought severe winds, heavy thundery downpours, and a strong south-westerly airflow. Status Red, Orange and Yellow wind warnings were issued.

A combination of storm surge, spring tides and onshore winds led to coastal flooding, particularly along the south coast.

By nightfall gusts of up to 143km/h (3-sec) were recorded, with sustained winds (10-min Mean) of Violent Storm Force 10 (111km/h) at Roches Point, a record for the month of August in Ireland. Elsewhere, Shannon Airport recorded a 112 km/h gust, and Valentia in Kerry reported 40mm of rainfall.

Athenry, County Galway recorded a Mean Sea Level (MSL) Pressure of 966.4 hPa at midnight , which is the lowest MSL Pressure on record for Ireland in August. The previous record was 967.8 hPa at Belmullet,
Mayo, on the 14th August 1959.

Roads were blocked by fallen trees, boats were driven from their moorings and flooding was reported in several towns.

At the height of the storm more than 194,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity. The ESB described it at the time as one of the most disruptive outages of the decade, with crews working for days to restore power in rural areas.

Counties along the south and west coast bore the brunt of the impact. In Cork, emergency services were stretched as reports of damage arrived from across the county. In Galway, Clare and Kerry, coastal flooding coincided with high tides, leaving several harbours damaged. Inland, strong winds toppled trees onto power lines and across roads, forcing diversions and leaving some communities cut off.

Ellen was unusual in both timing and severity. Violent windstorms typically occur during the winter months but Ellen arrived in the middle of the summer, just as Covid-19 restrictions had begun to ease and outdoor social gatherings were increasing. Local authorities later noted that the storm highlighted the vulnerability of infrastructure to extreme weather outside the traditional storm season.

The system was quickly followed by Storm Francis less than a week later, underscoring the unsettled conditions of that August.