Storm Domingos batters French grid following Ciarán’s whiplash

Following the passage of storm Ciarán, which caused outages for millions of French homes, storm Domingos has hit the country, leaving more without power across the country’s already-battered regions.

According to statements from French distribution system operator Enedis, most homes have had their power restored from storm Ciarán, although more restoration work is needed with storm Domingos exacting a separate toll.

In response to Ciarán, Enedis triggered its emergency response Rapid Electricity Intervention Force (FIRE) after the storm caused extensive damage to the public electricity distribution network in the north-west quarter of the country, including trees falling on power lines, pylons and cables torn out.

Wind gusts, stated the DSO, were recorded at more than 170km/h with more than 1.2 million customers without electricity on Thursday.

As of 6 November, more than 92% of homes have recovered from Ciarán with 93,000 homes still needing to be replenished, including 81,000 in Brittany and 11,000 in Normandy.

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The Domingos storm, which crossed the West of France during the night from Saturday to Sunday has now caused additional outages, with 247,000 French households without electricity on Sunday afternoon due to the combined effect of the storms.

As of Monday morning, 79% of homes have been restored with 33,000 remaining without power.

According to the Washington Post, Ciarán’s record-breaking winds battered western Europe from Thursday, proving to be the worst storm since 1987 for parts of Western Europe, with the powerful Domingos following days after.

According to Reuters, storm Ciaran was driven by a powerful jet stream that swept in from the Atlantic, unleashing heavy rain and fierce winds that have caused flooding in several western European countries.