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Storm Eowyn is smashing into the UK bringing gusts of nearly 100mph – with millions of Britons urged not to travel amid a rare “red” risk-to-life warning.
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled at airports across the UK and Ireland, including Heathrow, with rail operators halting services and hundreds of schools closed in Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England.
Train operator ScotRail suspended all services across Scotland on Friday, saying it “would not be safe to operate passenger services due to forecast weather conditions”.
More than 800,000 customers across the UK and Ireland have suffered power cuts, while the RAC advised motorists in areas covered by a red weather warning not to drive their car “unless absolutely essential”.
Ireland has taken the brunt of the storm, with Mace Head on the Galway coast recording a record gust of 114mph at 5am.
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Summary
Live updates
One in five flights from airports in the UK and Ireland have been cancelled on Friday as Storm Eowyn caused disruption at several major airports.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said at least 1,070 flights scheduled to operate to, from or between the countries’ airports were axed.
That is equivalent to 20% of all flights, affecting around 150,000 passengers.
Dublin was the worst affected airport in terms of cancellations, with 119 departures and 109 arrivals.
That was followed by Edinburgh (81 departures, 77 arrivals), Heathrow (50 departures, 58 arrivals) and Glasgow (43 departures, 42 arrivals).
The Met Office has issued snow and ice warnings across parts of the UK for Friday night and Saturday morning.
For Scotland and Northern Ireland, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued. Icy stretches and snow showers will result in some hazardous driving conditions.
For southwest England, including London, a yellow weather warning for ice has been put in place.
People are being told to expect: “Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services
“Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
“Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces.”
Around 4.5million people received an emergency alert on their mobile phone warning them of the incoming storm in the “largest real-life use of the tool to date”.
Record-breaking gusts of 118mph have been reported in County Clare, alongside Ireland’s coastline this morning.
A red weather warning for wind has been extended to cover more areas of southwest Scotland.
The warning now covers areas including Stranraer and Lockerbie.
Wind gusts of 80-90mph are expected widely and up to 100mph in more exposed areas.
The warning is in place until 5pm today.
A South Belfast resident has captured the dramatic moment a large children’s trampoline was swept through her back garden.
Kellie Lyttle wrote on X: “Goodbye for now trampoline, wherever you came from.”
A red weather warning for wind is currently in place across Northern Ireland, bringing “very dangerous conditions with widespread destruction”.
Schools have been closed and hundreds of flights to-and-from the city have been cancelled.
Winds of up to 80-90mph are expected widely, with gusts of up to 100mph expected in coastal areas.
One flood warning and 34 flood alerts are in place across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Rising river levels in the Middle Hampshire Avon at Britford, Salisbury, means flooding is expected this morning.
Residents have been urged to start acting on their flood plan; to avoid using low lying floodpaths and any bridges near local watercourses.
The flood warning reads: “We are monitoring rainfall and river levels and liaising with emergency services and local authorities.
“Stay away from floodwater – it contains hidden dangers such as open manhole covers, sewage and chemicals.
“Don’t put yourself or others at risk.”
While London and the South-East has escaped the rare red warning issued by the Met Office, Storm Eowyn is still having a significant impact on travel in the region – with airlines having to cancel dozens of flights.
We’ve compiled a list of cancelled departures at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports.
Commuters are battling the wind and rain as they make their way to work in central London on Friday morning.
According to the Met Office, people are facing gusts of up to 38mph currently in London.
These images show people as they cross Westminster Bridge this morning.
There are no reports of the stormy weather affecting transport within the capital, although longer distance travel is being affected to the north of England.
However separate issues have hit commuters in the capital.
A track circuit failure at London Waterloo is causing disruption to journeys to and from the station. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.
Meanwhile trains are returning to normal following a fault with the signalling system between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath. As service recovers, trains running between Gatwick Airport and Haywards Heath may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.
There are 715,000 homes, farms and businesses without power across the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said there had been “unprecedented, widespread and extensive” damage to electricity infrastructure nationwide.
ESB said it would take a “significant number of days” to restore power to all affected customers.
The threat to people’s safety from the high winds means that hundreds of schools have been closed across the UK:
Northern Ireland: All schools have been closed.
Scotland: All schools are closed in Glasgow and Edinburgh. More than 120 schools are closed in Aberdeenshire.
In the Highlands, six secondary schools, 20 primary schools and 17 nurseries are closed, the BBC reported. All schools and nurseries are closed in Argyll and Bute, as well as in the Scottish Borders.
England: 30 schools are closed in Northumberland , and seven in Cumberland.
Wales : Elfed High School in Flintshire is closed. More than 30 schools in Anglesey, external and two in Gwynedd, say they will stay closed on Friday.
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