A man has died after a tree fell on his van during Storm Darragh, Lancashire Police say
A rare red weather warning has ended in Wales and south-west England - but yellow and amber alerts remain in place
A wind gust of 93mph (150kmh) was recorded this morning in Wales and heavy rain is forecast in some areas
Tens of thousands of people are without power, according to the National Grid
Travel is seriously disrupted around the country, with Cardiff Airport closing its runway until 11:00 GMT, rail services disrupted and National Express coach services impacted
Oli Constable has been out reporting for us this morning on the north-west coast of Wales, which is currently under a red weather warning.
We should stress he is reporting from a safe place and people in the area are advised to stay indoors.
'It's like sandpaper on your face': BBC reporter on Storm Darragh
Chris Wood
BBC Wales News
Image source, Getty ImagesCardiff City's home Championship fixture against Watford plus Newport County v Carlisle United in League Two, scheduled for Saturday, have both been postponed.
"The safety of travelling fans, staff, players, and officials is the top priority, and this is considered the best decision given the circumstances," Newport said in a statement.
It comes as the Football Association of Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union postpone all domestic football and rugby matches in Wales scheduled for Saturday.
Image source, Getty ImagesNational Express services serving Wales and the South West are disrupted or cancelled due to the storm.
Bristol Coach Station is not due to open until 12:00 GMT.
In a statement, the operator says: “We are proactively contacting customers who have already booked with us during the red weather warning time period and locations affected.
“The services affected are primarily those serving Wales and the South West of England, but some services which connect with those areas are also cancelled.”
Passengers are advised to check services before they travel, external.
We've been reporting this morning that the highest wind speed reported so far has been 93mph - that was recorded in Capel Curig, Wales earlier this morning.
Here are the top six wind gusts recorded as part of Storm Darragh so far.
The National Grid has been updating details of the areas affected by power cuts throughout the morning. Their graphic is live, external and is being updated continually.
As of 09:40 GMT, over 60,000 premises are without power.
That includes:
The National Grid sets out: "Our teams are working extremely hard to restore power supplies and support customers as heavy wind and rain affects parts of our electricity network."
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks also has a map detailing current power outages, external. They report being "unable to provide an estimated restoration time" due to the number of faults being reported.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe town of Pontypridd has been hit hard by severe weather - including flooding last month
Residents in the valleys communities of Rhondda Cynon Taf have been hit hard by extreme weather in recent times.
Areas, including the town of Pontypridd, were flooded during Storm Dennis in 2020 and Storm Bert last month, leaving people fearing the worst.
Council leader Andrew Morgan says about 3,500 homes are without power in the Tonyrefail area, with high winds the biggest problem so far.
“At present there is minimal flooding,” he tells BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
“There is some highway flooding. But in terms of river flooding, which we were concerned about yesterday, based on the advice from Natural Resources Wales, it appears so far that the rivers are not responding to the same extent.
“And the modelling at present at least is suggesting we won't have significant river flooding.”
Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist
While there has been a lot of focus on the red warning and dangerous winds, there will be some nervousness about the heavy rain we’ve had after recent flooding from Storm Bert in late November.
Overnight, we saw heavy rain across Northern Ireland, Wales and the Midlands. For me at least, it sounded like buckets of water were being thrown at my bedroom window.
Heavy rain is set to continue today, especially in south Wales where there is an amber weather warning until this evening. With 60-90mm of rain expected, there will be some localised flooding.
"It was difficult to sleep when Storm Darragh started kicking off," says the BBC's Wales correspondent Tomos Morgan.
Braving the weather at Penarth seafront in the Vale of Glamorgan, he describes the situation across Wales - where flights are cancelled, roads closed and homes are without power.
Storm Darragh: Weather made it difficult to sleep in Penarth
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Image source, PA MediaWe can bring you more information now about transportation issues from the storm.
National Rail says Storm Darragh is expected to bring "significant disruption" today, with cancellations and delayed services across the network.
Warnings to passengers are varying across the country, with some areas advising against travel altogether. Others are saying only to do so if essential, and passengers across the network advised to check before they travel.
Chris Lockyer
BBC News, West of England
Watchet is right in the middle of the red alert area - and is bearing the brunt of Darragh.
The noise is apocalyptic - the gusts are howling through this harbour town.
Trees are down, boats in the harbour are essentially on their side, and as the tide comes in sea water is smashing over two sea walls.
There are Christmas trees strewn across the centre of town as well as people’s bins covering the footpaths and roads.
There are also a brave few out and about - some walking their dogs and others stood on the harbour getting dramatic shots of the sea breaking over the defences.
Image source, ReutersWe're hearing now that today's Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions from Storm Darragh.
The match had been scheduled to take place at Goodison Park in Liverpool at 12:30 GMT.
Championship fixtures Plymouth Argyle vs Oxford United and Cardiff City vs Watford have also been postponed.
We've been reporting this morning on the latest updates as Storm Darragh lands in the UK.
You can follow along with the latest video footage and updates from our news presenters by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page.
The main motorway linking south Wales to England has been closed in multiple places because of the storm.
Closures on the M4 begin with the Prince of Wales Bridge, over the River Severn, which links Bristol to Monmouthshire.
This is shut to all traffic because of strong winds.
The M4 is also closed eastbound at Newport, and in both directions at Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot.
Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist
In the last hour, a 93mph (150kmh) gust of wind was recorded at Capel Curig in north Wales. Wind gusts in Wales have repeatedly reached beyond 90mph today.
More widely across Wales, south west England and the Midlands, gusts are reaching speeds of between 50-70mph (80-112kmh).
We can still expect hours of severe weather outside.
The BBC's Tomasz Schafernaker has the latest forecast on Storm Darragh.
Watch below for further details on the Met Office's red and amber warnings, as well as the anticipated progression of the storm.
Weather forecast as Storm Darragh brings fierce winds
Cardiff Airport has closed their runway between 03:00GMT and 11:00GMT - the duration of the red weather warning.
A note on their website reads: "Passengers due to fly this weekend are advised to contact their airline or tour operator, as we do anticipate some disruption."
We're also following the situation at other airports across the country:
We'll be keeping an eye on travel throughout the day and will update with major disruptions.
Flights and airlines can see cancellations for a number of reasons. Check with your carrier for specific details.
Nick Johnson
BBC News
Earlier this morning, trains from Bristol Temple Meads had been running with minimal delays. Passengers arriving at the station said they had more of an issue getting here from nearby areas, since local buses are cancelled and some roads are blocked.
But in the past half hour, the rail situation is worsening at Bristol Temple Meads.
Services to London, Edinburgh, Portsmouth and Cardiff are all showing delayed or cancelled.
GWR - which operates services through south-west England - has urged passengers to rearrange their travel plans for the weekend.
The operator says speed restrictions will be imposed on the services that are running.
More than 33,000 homes are without power as extreme winds and rain from Storm Darragh sweep across Wales.
A red Met Office weather warning, external - the highest level - came into effect from 03:00 GMT and will be in force until 11:00, with Cardiff Airport saying it has closed its runway during this period.
The wind warning has predicted dangerous and perhaps life-threatening conditions across 13 counties across Wales.