Giancarlo Rinaldi
South Scotland reporter, BBC news website

Image source, DGVOST

A number of roads have been shut across south west Scotland as Storm Éowyn sweeps into Scotland.

The A716 north of Drummore at Kilstay Bay was closed with a flood warning for the area.

Police have also reported that the A709 is closed on the Lockerbie side of Lochmaben due to fallen trees between Lochmaben High Street and the Halleaths junction.

The A75 is blocked at Collin bypass by a tree as you head east. The A75 is closed at Skyreburn Bridge due to a fallen tree and a tree is down on the A709 near to Cemetery Brae on the outskirts of Lockerbie.

Image source, X

Edinburgh Trams have suspended all services from 10am due to the severe weather conditions.

They are continuing to review the situation and will aim to resume service in time for the evening peak.

Lothian Buses have already said they are not running during the red alert.

Millions of people have received emergency phone alerts over the approaching Storm Éowyn.

In case you missed it, this is the moment the alert sounded.

People in Scotland have been urged to stay indoors after the Met Office issued a red danger to life warning for wind.

Trains have been suspended across the country and hundreds of schools are closed after forecasters predicted wind speeds of up to 100mph during Storm Eowyn.

Buses across Scotland have also been widely disrupted and ferries across the country have been cancelled, according to CalMac.

Police said no motorists should travel in or to the red weather warning area.

The Met Office red warning runs from 10am to 5pm and covers the central belt including Glasgow and Edinburgh, stretching north on the west coast to Jura in Argyll and Bute and south to Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has a total of seven flood alerts in place, in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Dumfries and Galloway, Skye and Lochaber, west central Scotland, Wester Ross and the Western Isles.

It also has three, more severe, flood warnings in effect from Ayr to Troon in South Ayrshire, and East Luce Bay and West Luce Bay South in Dumfries and Galloway.

Schools and nurseries across Scotland are closed, except in five council areas, while non-urgent planned hospital procedures have been postponed in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister is urging people to follow Police Scotland advice not to travel in or to the red weather warning area as Storm Éowyn hits.

Kate Forbes told the BBC that if people stay at home they reduce the risk to themselves.

Over the course of today, the Scottish government's Resilience Room will host further meetings to understand the scale of the impact and what might come next.

Government ministers will meet with emergency services and key agencies like health and transport providers to co-ordinate the response.

She said the red weather warning is particularly severe and it's rare for the Met Office to issue that and added that utility companies have already been in touch with vulnerable customers to encourage them to prepare.

The Deputy First Minister also welcomed the closure of main shopping stores, saying businesses have a responsibility for the safety of their workforce.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has tweeted: "The RED weather warning we have today is very serious. There are extensive school closures, transport disruption and many dangers from the strong wind. @PoliceScotland, external have issued do not travel advice. Please follow all of the advice and stay safe."

BBC Scotland weather presenter Judith Ralston described the storm as a "once in a generation" event.

She said the strongest gusts early on Friday morning were recorded around Islay and the Mull of Kintyre in the south west.

She said: "We've seen gusts in excess of 60mph here but we're looking at 80-90mph, possibly 100mph for the west coast in the red warning area.

"This is an intense storm - once in a generation if not rarer."

All schools, nurseries and early years settings in are closed in:

• Aberdeen
• Aberdeenshire
• Argyll and Bute
• The Western Isles
• Angus,
• Clackmannanshire
• Dumfries and Galloway
• Dundee
• Falkirk
• Fife,
• Perth and Kinross
• Stirling
• Edinburgh
• East Lothian
• Midlothian
• West Lothian
• East Ayrshire
• East Dunbartonshire
• East Renfrewshire
• Glasgow
• Inverclyde
• North Ayrshire
• North Lanarkshire
• Renfrewshire
• South Ayrshire
• South Lanarkshire
• The Scottish Borders,
• West Dunbartonshire

In the Highlands, decisions about school closures will be made on an individual basis.

Schools are expected to be open in Moray, Orkney and Shetland.

CalMac said all ferry services were cancelled on Friday, while Northlink said services on its routes would be cancelled or delayed.

Police Scotland said those booked on ferry services between Cairnryan and Northern Ireland should not travel to the area and check with operators Stenaline and P&O for any updates.

They said freight drivers who "must attend" the port should follow instruction from their operators to access the Operation Overflow site, which will provide support.

Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports are operating a limited service, while all but a handful of flights from Aberdeen Airport – which is facing an amber warning – have been cancelled.

Travel reporter Simon Calder told the programme that about 250-300 flights within Scotland had been cancelled on Friday, affecting up to 20,000 passengers.

ScotRail has suspended all services on Friday, saying it would "not be safe to operate passenger services" due to the conditions.

The rail operator's communications director, David Ross, told Good Morning Scotland: "The big risk is objects falling onto the line, for example trees trapping trains.

"Given the conditions across the country it would be very difficult to access trapped trains, whether through the road conditions or other objects on the line preventing rescue. It just wouldn't be safe."

Network Rail advised those with garden furniture or trampolines to ensure they are tied down to avoid further debris blowing on to tracks.

Almost all schools have been closed and transport services have been shut down due to the warning, which officially runs between 10:00 and 17:00.

Ferries, flights and rail services have been axed, while Police Scotland has activated "operation overflow" to support those who are now stranded after booking on to sea crossings.

Image source, PA Media

Homes in southern, western and central Scotland are already experiencing power cuts as the country braces for the arrival of Storm Éowyn.

An estimated 10,000 people are without power in Ayrshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway due to the effects of Storm Éowyn, according to SP Energy Networks.

Energy supplier SSEN said they had increased their response teams to "10 times the usual levels" with the central belt and south west under a red "danger to life" weather alert.

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 warning covers large parts of Scotland from 10:00 until 17:00 today.

The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning, meaning there is a danger to life, as Storm Éowyn batters the UK.

Large parts of Scotland will be hit by the storm, with gusts of up to 100mph (161km/h) expected in some coastal areas.

Millions of people are being urged to stay at home and not travel during the storm