Millions urged to stay home as record-breaking Storm Eowyn brings disruption

Millions of people have been urged to stay at home as 100mph winds pose a danger to life and cause travel disruption across the UK.

Rail services, flights and ferries have been axed, with rare red weather warnings in place on Friday in Scotland and Northern Ireland as Storm Eowyn batters the country.

The storm is likely to damage buildings, uproot trees and cause power cuts, according to the Met Office alerts.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has urged people to stay at home, adding “we are in the eye of the storm now”, in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster.

Some 1,070 flights scheduled to operate to or from airports in the UK or Ireland on Friday have been cancelled, according to Aviation analytics company Cirium.

This is the equivalent of 20% of all flights, and the worst affected airports are Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow, according to the company.

As of Friday morning, more than 93,000 homes and businesses were left without power in Northern Ireland as the storm caused “widespread damage” to electricity networks, according to NIE Networks.

In the Republic of Ireland, 715,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power after Storm Eowyn caused “unprecedented” damage to electricity infrastructure, the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said.

Hundreds of schools and nurseries across Scotland will be closed on Friday as First Minister John Swinney warned residents not to travel.

Train operator ScotRail has suspended all services across Scotland on Friday, saying it “would not be safe to operate passenger services”, with Calmac and Western ferry services also cancelled because of weather conditions.

Other services impacted by the storm include Avanti West Coast, LNER, West Midlands Railway, Lumo, Transport for Wales and Southern Western Railway.

Motorists in areas covered by red and amber weather warnings have been told to avoid travel “unless absolutely essential”.

National Highways said the A66 between the A1M in North Yorkshire and M6 in Cumbria, as well as the A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, were both closed overnight due to strong winds.

The M62 Ouse Bridge in East Yorkshire has also been closed to high-sided vehicles.

On Friday morning, a record-breaking wind speed of 183kmh (114 mph) was measured in Mace Head, Co Galway in Ireland, Met Eireann said.

The previous highest wind speed on record was 182kmh (113mph) set in January 1945 in Foynes, Co Limerick, according to the weather service.

In Wales, winds reached a top speed of 93mph in the Welsh village of Aberdaron, Gwynedd, on Friday morning, the Met Office said.

Red warnings are in place in Northern Ireland from 7am until 2pm on Friday.

The Met Office extended its red warning for Scotland on Friday, and it now covers as far south as Lockerbie, as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lanark and Ayr, and is in place until 5pm.

Wind speeds of up to 100mph are likely along coasts in both red warning areas with gusts of up to 90mph expected inland, the forecaster said.

Amber wind warnings are also in place for Northern Ireland, the southern half of Scotland, northern England and north Wales between 6am and 9pm on Friday, and the northern half of Scotland from 1pm on Friday to 6am on Saturday.

Winds reaching 60 to 70mph will be widespread in these areas, with up to 90mph possible on coastal areas.

A further yellow wind warning covers the rest of UK for all of Friday.

Yellow warnings for snow are in place in Scotland, from 6am to midnight, and rain in south-west England and Wales until 9am.

RAC Breakdown advised motorists in warning areas to stay safe by parking away from trees, keep a firm grip on the steering wheel, avoid coastal routes and watch out for debris.

Some 4.5 million people received emergency alerts on their phones warning of the incoming storm in the “largest real-life use of the tool to date” on Thursday.

More amber and yellow weather warnings for wind and rain have been issued across the weekend.