Night of the Big Wind

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The Night of the Big Wind (Irish: Oíche na Gaoithe Móire) was a severe European windstorm which swept across Ireland on the night of January 6 - January 7, 1839 causing severe damage to property and several hundred deaths.

The storm developed after a period of unusual weather. Heavy snow, rare in Ireland, fell across the country on the night of January 5, which was replaced on the morning of January 6 by an Atlantic warm front, which brought a period of complete calm with dense, motionless, cloud cover. Through the day, temperatures rose well above their seasonal average, resulting in rapid melting of the snow.

During daytime on the 6th, a deep Atlantic depression began to move towards Ireland, creating a cold front when it collided with the warm air over land, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. First reports of stormy weather came from western County Mayo around noon, and the storm moved very slowly across the island through the day, gathering strength as it moved.

By midnight the winds reached hurricane force. Contemporary accounts of damage indicate that the Night of the Big Wind was the most severe storm to impact on Ireland for many centuries. It is estimated that between 250 and 300 people lost their lives in the storm. Severe property damage was caused, particularly in Connacht, but also in Ulster and northern Leinster. Between a fifth and a quarter of all houses in Dublin suffered damage ranging from broken windows to complete destruction. Much of the inland damage was caused by the storm depositing large quantities of sea water inland, resulting in widespread flooding.

Even well-built buildings suffered structural damage, including new factories and military barracks. One of the steeples of the Church of Ireland church in Castlebar was blown down, and a number of large country houses were deroofed. Among the poorly built homes of the poor, damage was more severe and many were completely destroyed. A number of ships were wrecked while unsuccessfully trying to ride out the storm and a majority of the recorded casualties occurred at sea.

Severe damage also occurred to stacks of hay and corn, resulting in severe starvation among livestock in the months following the storm.

The Night of the Big Wind became part of Irish folk tradition. Irish folklore held that judgement day would occur on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6. Such a severe storm led many to believe that the end of the world was at hand.

When the British state pension system was introduced 1909, one of the questions asked of applicants in Ireland lacking documentation was if he or she could remember the storm of 1839.

A popular story holds that the storm inspired the Director of Armagh Observatory, the Reverend Romney Robinson, to develop the cup-anemometer, which remains the commonly used wind measuring device as of 2005.