Emma Little-Pengelly says that the situation is "likely to evolve."

"Although we hope that it won't be as bad as predicated, it is vital that we prepare for the worst but hope for the best."

ACC Beck says the PSNI has been liaising with the health department and trusts.

"They will be advising people as to potential attendance," he adds,

"I expect that routine, planned elective surgery and outpatient appointments will be impacted, but people should be advised by the trusts in advance.

"It will have an impact on those services."

"The information is very clear, between those hours, particularly of the red alert, people are advised not to travel," says the deputy first minister.

She adds that there will "of course be emergency situations" but to contact emergency services if so.

The first minister says she believes that having two different weather alert systems on the island of Ireland, Met Éireann and the Met Office, "causes confusion for citizens".

She says they are currently "focused on the operational to the actual storm", but adds they should "always look" to improve things going forward.

ACC Beck says no one agency can deal with a major incident alone and that it was bringing together resources from across government agencies and the voluntary sector.

"This is going to be really challenging and something we have not experienced for some significant time, but by declaring it a major incident, we bring the efforts of all those agencies," he adds.

He says they are maximising all available resources and that the PSNI has cancelled all non-essential activity tomorrow

He says the civil contingencies plan has kicked in.

The first minister says people who have GP appointments should check in with their GP this afternoon.

She adds that if anyone was planning to collect a prescription tomorrow, they should try to get it today or leave it until after the weather alerts are over.

She said that individual trusts are "working through their systems at the moment in terms of hospital appointments".

She says that emergency services will still be available but it "will be very difficult even for those services in the height of the storm".

Emma Little-Pengelly adds: "We want to ensure that any information coming through the NI government website and through our official social media sites, will be the official information."

"We will endeavour to update that as quickly as possible.

"It is important to keep an eyes on these," she says.

The first minister says that an emergency alert will got out on people's phones later this afternoon but adds people shouldn't wait for it.

"Our message is loud and clear, plan now prepare now, cancel things now, don't wait for an alert on your phone."

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck says members of the public are advised to take all necessary precautions to keep themselves safe.

"A red weather warning is rare, it means there is a risk to life and the public should not travel during this time," he says.

"This storm represents an exceptional weather event and is expected to bring sustained wind speeds of up to and above 100mph across Northern Ireland."

He says it had been declared a major incident and the message is to stay indoors and stay safe.

The deputy first minister says: "We do want people to take this seriously."

Emma Little-Pengelly adds that she wants everyone to "follow the advice" that has been given.

She continues to urge people to "make sure you prepared by staying are up to date."

"Experienced emergency teams are ready to respond to the developing situation."

The first minister says preparations are in place across government for the impact of the storm.

Michelle O'Neill reiterates advice for people not to travel during the red warning.

She adds that the health service are working on "urgent contingency plans" for patients and staff, but says that if someone needs emergency medial care they should contact the health service.

The second press conference of the day with the first and deputy first ministers and PSNI ACC Davy Beck is starting now.

You can now click on the Watch Live button at the top of the page to tune in.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised members of the public to take all necessary precautions to keep themselves safe.

"It is anticipated that this storm will bring the strongest winds experienced in Northern Ireland since the 1998 Boxing Day storms which caused widespread damage across infrastructure and impacted on almost all public services," a police statement says.

Police are asking the public not to travel during this time and to remain indoors.

The PSNI issued the following advice:

• Ensure your devices are charged so that if you need help, you have a mechanism to use
• 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

Killian O’Kelly, of the RNLI, says both coastal waters and inland waterways will be dangerous and unpredictable as a result of stormy weather tomorrow.

He urged people to stay away from activities near water if they can.

“We have a lot of people who have routines, where they walk or they swim each morning,” he told BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme.

“The problem with this sheer volume of wind that we are going to get is that it makes the entire bodies of water unpredictable.

“You could be 200m away from the water in our coastal areas and a surge could move that water right up to you in a matter of seconds.

“That only happens in a storm and then a person can get caught out.

“When we say stay back, we mean way back.”

All public libraries, mobile libraries and administration centres will be closed tomorrow, Libraries NI says.

There will also be no homecall service and out of hours services will not be operational from Thursday evening until Monday morning, due to possible disruption.

Any events that had been planned will also be cancelled.

However, Libraries NI says customers can still access online resources as normal.

"Potential disruption to services may continue into the weekend, so please keep an eye out on our Facebook pages for further updates."

As the first and deputy first ministers indicated earlier, we are expecting another update from them shortly.

Three podiums have been set up at Stormont for another press conference.

We'll be bringing that to you live - you can watch by clicking on the 'Watch Live' button that will appear that the top of this page and follow live updates here too.

Image source, Getty Images

Get torches, batteries and make sure your devices are charged - that's the advice from Northern Ireland Electricity as it braces for possible power cuts.

“We have been working closely with the Met Office and other agencies to keep updated on the progress of the storm,” Caron Malone, head of transmission strategy at NIE Networks, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme.

“We continue to enact our escalation plans, it is not possible at this stage to predict the extent of the damage that we might see, but in our experience with these sorts of weather warnings, we are preparing for widespread damage on the network."

If you're just joining us, here's a quick catch up:

• Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers have advised people to stay home on Friday and work from home if possible with Storm Éowyn due to land in the early hours
• They said it was an "evolving" situation and that more information would be issued later this afternoon
• The Northern Ireland red warning will be in effect from 7am until 2pm on Friday, while in the Republic the red alert comes into effect at various times from 2am.
• All schools across the island of Ireland will be closed on Friday, while Queen's University Belfast and Ulster Universityhave said they will close tomorrow as well as further education colleges
• All Lidl stores on the island will close during the times the red warning is in place
• Public transport operator Translink and both Belfast's airports have warned of disruption to services
• Three P&O Ferries sailings from Larne to Cairnryan on Friday are cancelled

Image source, Getty Images

The supermarket chain Lidl says all its stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic will close on Friday.

The company added the stores will reopen one hour after weather warnings lift in local areas, if it's safe to do so.

The Northern Ireland warning will be in effect from 7am until 2pm on Friday.

The red warnings in Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo are from 1am on Friday until 12pm; in Clare and Galway they are from 3am to 11am; and in Donegal the earning is from 7am to 2pm.

Public transport, flights and ferries are going to be heavily disrupted tomorrow.

Here's what we know so far if you're due to travel:

• Bus and train operator Translink says that passengers should "allow additional journey time in case of delays/disruption", while the Met Office has said to expect roads, bridges and railway lines will be closed.
• Belfast City Airport's latest information shows a number of cancellations of Aer Lingus services to and from Great Britain tomorrow. It says disruption to flights is expected and advised passengers to check with their airline.
• Belfast International Airport says it is "actively monitoring" the forecast and anticipates flights being affected. It also asked passengers to check with airlines and stay across the airport's website for the latest.
• P&O Ferries says its 4am, 8am and 12pm sailings from Larne to Cairnryan tomorrow are cancelled. It is aiming to restart its service with the 4pm sailing leaving at 5pm, but that is subject to change depending on the weather.