Storm Eowyn has set havoc across the UK with strong winds and red weather warning in place in some areas.
For one Irish dad, Storm Eowyn prompted him to protect one thing in particular – his household wheelie bins. It’s not uncommon to see bins that have fallen on the ground after being hit by a storm or windy weather but this dad was determined not to let this happen.
A user on X, based in Ireland, shared a photo on the social media platform of a blue bin, a green bin and a brown bin taped to the wall yesterday (Thursday, January 23). They captioned the post: “Roaring at my dad taping the bins to the wall”.
They gave an update early this morning where they said the bins made it through the night without getting damaged. The user tweeted: “They’ve officially survived the night, but it’s far from over yet.
“All 3 bins and the wall currently in tact with no damage. Can’t say the same for the neighbour’s bins. I bet they feel silly now. #StormEowyn.”
The user also posted another photo in the thread to show that their dad had also taped the bin lids shut. The X post has garnered 681,000 views, 10,000 likes, 652 retweets and almost 400 comments.
One user said: “Smart move, Dad.” Another added: “Stops them blowing away and hurting someone. Not such a silly Billy is he. Well done dad.”
A third commented: “Perfectly logical. They’ll only fall over if they rock.” A fourth user chimed in: “This is great, stay safe and I hope the bins do too.”
Further commenters said: “Such a dad thing to do”, “smart dad” and “classic dad move”. Others described the dad’s actions as “genius” and “brilliant”.
One user shared that they use bungee cords over the lids of their bins and tie them to the bench. They said it was “great thinking” from the dad to tape his bins to the wall.
Earlier today we reported a wind speed of 114mph was recorded in Galway, Ireland, at 5am this morning, which broke the previous record of 113mph. The Met Office has issued red weather warnings for wind for Northern Ireland as well as central and southwestern areas of Scotland.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “We reserve the issuing of Red Warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption, and that is the case with Storm Éowyn.
“While it will be widely very windy on Friday, with additional hazards from rain and snow, the strongest winds and most significant impacts are likely in Northern Ireland and central and southwestern parts of Scotland within the Red Warning areas, where winds could gust 80-90 mph quite widely for a time, and potentially up to 100 mph for exposed coasts in particular.”
This is the first Red Warning issued for Northern Ireland since the Met Office moved to impact-based warnings in 2011. Mr Gunderson added that there is “snow likely for some, rain for many and strong winds for much of the UK” as Storm Eowyn is a “multi-hazard event”.