Millions of people have been urged to stay at home on Friday as Storm Éowyn is set to bring potentially life-threatening winds to the north and west of the UK.

Friday’s red weather warning is the first in the north since the Met Office changed how it classifies warnings in 2011

Storm Éowyn, already described the storm as an "exceptional weather event" by police in Northern Ireland, has hit the UK - and it poses a danger to life for many

A red weather warning is the highest possible alert sent out by the Met Office. Red warnings are issued when there is a danger to life, along with the likelihood of substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and widespread damage to property and infrastructure.

Several weather warnings - ranging from yellow to red - have been issued across the country, with the worst conditions expected to hit Northern Ireland and Scotland

Storm Eowyn has left its mark on Ireland and brought plenty of damage to Dublin overnight. The red weather warning has now passed for Dublin, with an orange warning currently in place until 12 noon. That will then downgrade to a yellow warning as strong gusts remain.

Storm forecasters say "a strong event cannot be ruled out" in the UK - with an explosive cyclogenesis caused by a major drop in air pressure bringing the "risk of a few tornados".

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