Storm Darragh (known as Storm Xaveria in Germany) was an extratropical cyclone which severely impacted Ireland and the United Kingdom in December 2024. The fourth named storm of the 2024–25 European windstorm season, Darragh was named by the UK Met Office on 5 December 2024.
Impact
Belgium The Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI) issued a yellow wind warning covering West Flanders from 10 a.m. on 7 December to 11 a.m. the following day. The storm reportedly caused gusts of 85 km/h (53 mph) in the province.
France Météo-France issued amber wind alerts for nine departments from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 7 December, warning of "sometimes violent gusts of wind, particularly on coastlines exposed to west to northwest winds". SNCF suspended all rail services on Normandy's 'Nomad' from 7–8 December, as well as some services in Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. On 7 December, a gust of 159 km/h (99 mph) was recorded at 7 p.m. near Carteret in Normandy. Enedis reported that 13,000 customers were without power in Brittany. Traffic was prohibited from crossing the Brotonne, Grand Canal du Havre, Normandy and Tancarville bridges and due to high winds. A 60-year-old man was injured near Arras when a tree fell on his car. On 8 December, the body of a 66-year-old man, who had been reported missing earlier that day, was found in a river near Mesnil-Mauger; the incident is believed to be flood-related. In Brittany and Normandy, Enedis reported that over 50,000 homes were still without power. The unloaded 120-metre barge AMT Challenger, without crew, ran aground on a beach at Sotteville-sur-Mer; it had broken free from its tug while sheltering near the Isle of Wight on 6 December, and been drifting in the English Channel in British and then French waters for two days, defying all attempts to reconnect. In Coquelles, a man was injured after a tree fell on his car and the roof of a nursing home was blown off.
Ireland Met Éireann issued red wind warnings for seven counties from 9 p.m. on 6 December whilst the rest of the country was under orange warnings from 8 p.m. A yellow wind warning also covered the country from 3 p.m. on 5 December until 3 p.m. on 7 December, as well as a yellow rain warning covering thirteen counties from 10 a.m. on 6 December to 10 a.m. the next day. A gust of 141 km/h (88 mph) was recorded at Mace Head at 11 p.m. on 6 December. On 7 December around 395,000 people in Ireland lost power and many flights at Dublin Airport had been cancelled; 12 flights at Cork Airport were cancelled and a further 11 were diverted. Irish Ferries cancelled multiple sailings to France and the UK, Bus Éireann services experienced significant disruption and many rail services were disrupted. Road travel was also disrupted by debris and fallen trees across the country. The ESB said the storm's impact was greater than that of Storm Ophelia in 2017. On 8 December, Uisce Éireann said it had restored water supplies to 40,000 customers.
Netherlands The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) issued a code yellow warning for 6 December covering all of the Netherlands save Limburg, North Brabant and Zeeland provinces. Over 100 flights at Schiphol Airport were cancelled on 6 December due to the storm. Ferry services from Terschelling to Ameland and Harlingen were cancelled and many train services were disrupted by fallen trees. Several ships got into trouble in the North Sea on 6 December. The cargo vessel 'Valday', which was drifting rudderlessly, had to be towed to Rotterdam after several attempts, one of which left a crew member injured.
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