Northern Ireland braces for red weather warning for wind

Very dangerous conditions, like fallen trees on roads, are expected - like this one during Storm Darragh in December

A "major incident" has been declared as Northern Ireland is expected to be battered by the strongest winds since Boxing Day 1998, police have said.

Ahead of Storm Éowyn, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have been issued red weather warnings for the first time.

Schools, colleges and universities are closed and most hospital appointments have been cancelled as "significant disruption" is expected as a result of the storm.

The rare red weather warning will be in effect across Northern Ireland from 07:00 until 14:00 GMT on Friday.

The Met Office has said there is a danger to life and political leaders have urged people to stay at home.

A number of businesses, including supermarkets Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury's , are also closed in light of the severe winds.

Public transport service provider Translink have said bus and train services will not run during the red alert.

What is the advice?

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has advised members of the public to take all necessary precautions to keep themselves safe and not travel.

The PSNI issued the following advice:

• Ensure your devices are charged

• Ensure you have emergency lighting such as torches easily accessible in the event of power cuts

• Have ready access to additional blankets or sources of warmth in the event your heating supply is disrupted

• Make checks with your vulnerable family, friends and neighbours to ensure they have adequate provisions in place if carers and so on cannot reach them

• In an emergency call 999

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Ass Ch Cons Davy Beck and First Minister Michelle O'Neill held a press conference on Thursday at Stormont

On Thursday, First Minister Michelle O'Neill advised people to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel.

She added that she wanted to emphasise that a red warning was very serious and was only used when there was a genuine threat to life.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly added that people should stay inside where possible.

Education Minister Paul Givan said he understood the closure would affect the work of schools and other businesses but the decision had been taken "to avoid any potential risk to life for children and young people as well as staff".

The UK government issued the "largest real life use to date" of its Emergency Alert system, notifying about 4.5 million people of severe weather in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

An alert was sent on Thursday to phones warning of high winds

Travel disruption

A departures board at Belfast City Airport showed cancelled flights on Thursday evening

There will be no Translink buses or trains operating in Northern Ireland from Friday morning until early afternoon.

Director of Services, Ian Campbell, said services would be reinstated "wherever it is safe to do so".

• How to protect your home before, during and after a storm

• How do storms like Éowyn get their names?

A number of flights from Belfast City Airport have been cancelled, while Belfast International Airport and City of Derry Airport have also warned people to expect delays and cancellations.

Dublin Airport said there could be "some disruption" to Friday's flight schedule and that passengers should contact their airline directly for updates.

P&O has announced ferry cancellations between Larne and Cairnryan from 04:00 to noon and Stena Line services between Ireland and Great Britain are also severely disrupted.

Hospital appointments

Four of Northern Ireland's health trusts are advising that all appointments are cancelled, or should be considered cancelled, unless you have been contacted specifically to say otherwise.

The South Eastern, Belfast, Western and Northern health trusts all say that this includes red flag cancer referrals and all scheduled appointments, with "significant disruption" expected.

The exception is emergency departments and care, which will be operating as normal.

The Southern Health Trust says all outpatient appointments and all elective surgery, including red flag and urgent, are cancelled.

Storm Éowyn weather forecast

Storm Éowyn is the fifth named storm of the season. It has been caused by powerful jet stream winds pushing low pressure towards the UK and Ireland over the Atlantic Ocean - after a recent cold spell over North America.

Red is the most serious weather warning the Met Office can issue, meaning dangerous weather is expected and people are urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe.

The red warning for the whole of Northern Ireland will be in force until 14:00 on Friday.

It is the first time a red weather warning has been issued for Northern Ireland since an impact-based system was introduced in 2011.

Winds are expected to rapidly increase on Friday morning with peak gusts of 80-90 mph (130-145 km/h) and possibly up to 100mph along some exposed coasts.

Further amber and yellow warnings will remain in place on Friday.

There are other warnings across parts of the United Kingdom.

In the Republic of Ireland, Met Éireann has warned that "severe, damaging and destructive winds" are expected.

The red alert there comes into effect at various times from 02:00 local time.

Speaking to RTÉ, chairman of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group said Storm Éowyn would "probably be among the severest storms" Ireland had ever seen.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) warned all members of the public that a red severe weather warning means "shelter in place".

Meanwhile, a yellow warning for strong wind has been issued for Northern Ireland on from 08:00 - 15:00 on Sunday.

The Met Office is expecting a further period of strong of strong winds with gusts up to 60mph (100km/h) quite widely, and up to 70mph (115km/h) around exposed coasts and hills.