It was one of the worst storms to hit Ireland in recent history, but some members of the public still found time to complain to Met Éireann about their forecasts.
One person said the meteorology service had forced every business in the country to close while another said it was like Covid ‘lockdown’ all over again.
A copy of one complaint said: “You are completely out of touch with what is going on weather wise, there was absolutely no need for a red warning.
“There was small gusts of wind and rain last night here in Waterford and as of this morning there is blue skies, and no sign of any storm let alone a red warning. The scare mongering is getting ridiculous.”
The person said they understood that conditions were worse in other parts of the country but asked why more localised warnings could not be put in place.
Another said the frequent use of ‘red’ warnings was leading to cancelled work and people getting ‘hunkered down’ unnecessarily.
A message said: “Older neighbours particularly isolated themselves for days. It was like 'lockdown' all over again.
“Could you maybe say a slight addition to the red alert, there may be places in the country where little is felt from the weather conditions. we urge you to use correct judgement and common sense.”
In records released under FOI, another member of the public said they found the warning system confusing because it revolved around set specific times.
“So, in Clare red warning ends at twelve noon – no other warning in place, can't quite believe the wind just stops immediately at twelve. Am I wrong?” they said.
One person quibbled with Met Éireann over whether a red warning was justified but commended them for the “excellent work” they do.
Their message said: “Can you detail why the Dublin area is under a red forecast warning when both the Met Éireann app and website are forecasting metrics for Dublin significantly short of the red warning criteria as stated on [your] website?”
Another complaint said updated forecasts were not being provided quickly enough and were about as useful as “t*ts on a bull.”
They wrote: “The updates should be every fifteen minutes, and we should be easily able to track the storm with help from the American weather plane sent over.
“Storms can change course. Has this storm changed course? I don’t know as there is no available data.”
The number of complaints received about Storm Éowyn was extremely low however, with one other person claiming there were apparent errors in data provided.
They said conflicting information for Laois had been provided, writing: “If one is to trust warnings which are being issued, the data should be double checked (or triple checked if double checking is not working).”
