Storm Boelo Causes Widespread Disruption Across Ireland

Storm Boelo has left thousands of homes across the island of Ireland without power and caused significant flight cancellations at major airports on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) reported 7,000 affected customers, while ESB Networks in the Republic of Ireland confirmed approximately 41,000 homes, farms, and businesses were without electricity. The storm brought high winds and severe weather conditions from Saturday night into Sunday morning, leading to extensive damage to the electricity network, according to BBC Science.

In Northern Ireland, the worst-hit areas include Springfield in County Fermanagh and Bushmills in County Antrim, where over 1,000 homes near each village experienced power outages. An NIE spokesperson noted that customers could use its Powercheck tool for estimated restoration times. In the Republic of Ireland, properties in the north west were primarily affected, with Milford in County Donegal seeing more than 1,600 homes without power and Aghagad in County Sligo over 1,200.

Flight operations were severely impacted at Belfast City, Belfast International, and Dublin Airports. At Belfast City Airport, flights departing to Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, and Kirkwall were cancelled, as were arrivals from Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, and Inverness. Belfast International Airport reported 17 cancelled flights. Dublin Airport experienced cancellations of 12 inbound and 12 outbound flights, mainly due to weather issues in other countries, according to Graeme McQueen from daa, the airport's operator.

Ferry services also faced disruption. Stena Line sailings from Belfast to Cairnryan and Liverpool were cancelled on Sunday morning, with Cairnryan to Belfast sailings also impacted. P&O Ferries cancelled sailings from Cairnryan and Larne at 08:00 and 12:00. Police confirmed several roads across Northern Ireland were closed due to fallen trees, including Springwell Road in Groomsport, County Down, and Cootehall Road, Crawfordsburn.

Weather warnings remained in place, with a yellow weather warning for all of Northern Ireland until midday and a yellow wind warning in County Donegal until 15:00 local time on Sunday. An amber warning for parts of County Antrim and County Londonderry ended at 10:00 GMT. On Saturday, Northern Ireland recorded its strongest gust of wind at 78mph in Orlock Head, County Down, while Malin Head in Donegal experienced gusts of 83mph. Significant rainfall was also noted, with Castlederg and Lough Fea recording almost 40mm.

Westerly winds were expected to gust close to 70mph in exposed coastal areas until the afternoon, gradually easing later in the day. While Sunday was anticipated to be drier with some sunshine and passing showers, a disturbed weather pattern is forecast to continue into the half-term week, with another deep area of low pressure bringing strong winds on Monday and Tuesday. The Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for parts of Northern Ireland for this upcoming system.

What to watch: Further weather warnings for strong winds early next week.

Editor's note: Thorough coverage of Storm Boelo's disruption across Ireland, incorporating specific power outages, flight cancellations, and weather data accurately.