Storm Éowyn hits UK: ‘danger to life’ warnings in Scotland and Northern Ireland

A red “danger to life” weather warning is in place across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, ahead of a rare weather bomb brought by Storm Éowyn.

The Met Office is warning of very dangerous conditions and significant disruption, with flying debris, fallen trees on roads, large waves and power cuts likely to affect the area covered by the red warning, where 100mph (160km/h) winds are expected.

Amber and yellow alerts for wind are in place across the rest of the UK, and going into the weekend.

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

A wind speed of 114mph had been recorded in Ireland, the fastest since records began, Met Éireann said.

On Friday, flights and rail services were delayed, roads closed and ferry services cancelled ahead of the weather bomb, caused by a powerful jet stream pushing low pressure across the Atlantic towards the UK.

Otherwise known as explosive cyclogenesis, a weather bomb happens when the central pressure of a storm drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, causing rapid intensification as air is sucked into the storm, creating violent winds strong enough to cause serious damage.

Climate change is making these dramatic and extreme weather events more likely.

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Northern Ireland is in the eye of the storm with a real threat to life and property with more than 70 reports of trees down and almost 100,000 homes and premises without power.

Radar pictures issued by Met Éireann for the island of Ireland at 8.30am on Friday showed Storm Éowyn barrelling across Ulster after it moved northwards from the republic where record gusts of 114mph were recorded overnight.

Schools, colleges, and the courts in Northern Ireland have been closed and flights cancelled as the storm moved across the Irish Sea to Scotland.

Alliance party MP Sorcha Eastwood posted a photograph of a telegraph pole lifted from the ground by the force of the wind on Friday morning in Blaris.

The severe red alert weather warning remains in place from 7am on Friday until 2pm.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland described the storm as an “exceptional weather event” that was expected to bring the strongest winds seen in the country since 1998.

Assistant chief constable Davy Beck said there have been wind speeds in excess of 70mph.

“We’re seeing significant amounts of debris right across the road network,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

“The road network is dangerous and the message remains stay at home, stay safe and stay off the roads please.”

The first minister, Michelle O’Neill, said: “We’re in the eye of the storm now. We are in the period of the red alert.

“People can see for themselves, the wind has been very much picking up overnight.

“We’ve just been briefed by the Civil Contingencies Group, by the PSNI who are in the lead in terms of the storm response and they tell us that the situation is, as we have outlined yesterday, we’re still in a period of jeopardy in terms of the damage that potentially could be caused as a result of the storm.

“I think the real message we want to get across to your listeners this morning is to please be ultra cautious, to please stay at home if you can and actually we will see how the storm will rage but the scale of the storm, the level of wind that we’ve experienced across the island, which is something that’s never been seen before.”

Dozens of flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports were cancelled, while Belfast International warned of significant disruption to flights. Dublin airport announced more than 110 scheduled departures and 110 arrivals had been cancelled on Friday.

The train operator ScotRail suspended all services across Scotland and said it would not be safe to operate passenger services.

CalMac Ferries on Scotland’s west coast and Steam Packet Ferries between Heysham and the Isle of Man announced Friday’s planned sailings had been cancelled.

A number of train companies, including Avanti West Coast, Lumo, CrossCountry and Grand Central, have halted services on routes across parts of north Wales, Scotland and northern England.

Passengers and motorists in areas covered by red and amber weather warnings have been told to avoid travel unless 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 closed overnight due to strong winds.

Farther south, the M48 Severn Bridge was shut, while the Tamar Bridge on the A38 between Devon and Cornwall was closed to high-sided vehicles until 5am.

Avon and Somerset reported a number of roads had been blocked by fallen trees and advised motorists to take care.

In Wales, Gwent police confirmed emergency services were working to manage surface flooding on the B4598 between Raglan and Abergavenny.

Met Éireann reported the mean wind speed record of 81mph set in 1945 at Foynes, County Limerick, had been broken during the storm. The Irish weather service also said there had been gusts of up to 108mph in Mace Head, off Ireland’s west coast, by 4am on Friday.

Red warnings for wind were issued by the Met Office in Northern Ireland from 7am until 2pm on Friday, and for western and central areas of Scotland between 10am and 5pm. Gusts of 80-90mph were expected inland in areas covered by the warnings, with speeds of up to 100mph likely along coasts.

Amber wind warnings were 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 of 60-70mph will be widespread in these areas.

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