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A rare red weather covering Northern Ireland and Scotland was issued on Thursday before what could be the strongest storm in generations.
The Met Office said the arrival of Storm Éowyn on Friday could bring gusts of up to 100mph and “flying debris resulting in a danger to life”.
The red warnings, an upgrade of existing amber warnings, covered all of Northern Ireland and parts of central and southern Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ayr and Peebles.
In the Irish republic a rare nationwide red warning for wind is in place, issued by Met Eireann.
The Northern Ireland warning runs from 7am to 2pm on Friday and the Scotland warning from 10am to 5pm.
All schools in Northern Ireland have been advised to close on Friday amid a rare red warning for wind issued for Storm Éowyn, Stormont’s education minister Paul Givan has said.
Forecasters said there could also be power cuts, very dangerous driving conditions because of fallen trees, roofs blown off and power lines brought down.
Roads, bridges and railway lines are likely to be closed and travel disruption is predicted.
Northern Railways, which operates across northern England, advised passengers to “avoid travelling where possible” as it cancelled services before the storm.
The company said it was expecting “severe disruption” and has cancelled services across the network including trains across the Pennines, down the Cumbrian coast and between Carlisle and Newcastle.
LNER said there would be no services north of Newcastle in either direction from 11am on Friday. Avanti West Coast advised passengers not to travel north of Preston or on its North Wales route.
Éowyn is the fifth named storm of the year and potentially the most destructive.
Forecasters have said it could be the strongest system the UK and Ireland has seen since Storm Debbie in September 1961, which wrecked homes, cut power and led to the deaths of 12 people in the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland.
The Irish premier Simon Harris urged people to stay away from the coast with the storm expected to strike at midnight. He said that Storm Éowyn would be “dangerous, destructive and damaging”.
“We cannot give a higher warning than nationwide red. The risk to life is extreme and real. You need to pay attention. Do not travel. Do not go near the sea.”
A Met Office spokesperson said peak rush hour wind speeds of 80-90 miles an hour are expected across Northern Ireland on Friday, with up to 100mph in some exposed locations.
“An extremely windy spell with disruption and potentially damaging winds tomorrow morning,” he said.
The record for a gust in Northern Ireland is 124mph in Kilkeel in Co Down in January 1974.
Experts say Éowyn could also bring torrential rain and leave heavy snow in its wake across the UK.
There are also yellow wind warnings in place for parts of southern England and Wales.
