Three people have been killed on roads as Storm Eunice hits the UK
A woman in her 30s has died in north London, a man in his 50s has died in Merseyside and a man in his 20s has died in Hampshire
Several other people have been injured by falling trees and flying debris, while another man has died in the Republic of Ireland
About 200,000 homes are without power across the UK, according to Environment Secretary George Eustice
It has brought widespread travel disruption with hundreds of trains and flights cancelled
In London, parts of the O2 Arena's roof have been shredded
A wind gust of 122mph at the Needles on the Isle of Wight is provisionally the highest gust ever recorded in England
An amber warning for wind is in place across the Midlands, southern England and Wales until 21:00 GMT
There are yellow warnings for snow, ice and wind in Northern Ireland and Scotland
BBC reporter Tomos Morgan says few people have ventured out as Storm Eunice batters the coast of Porthcawl in south Wales - and those who are out are having to walk sideways.
Watch his report from the ground (just about...):
Image source, PA MediaAll Red Funnel ferry services - both car ferry and Red Jet fast service - between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight have been cancelled until further notice.
Wightlink's Lymington to Yarmouth service is also now suspended due to the red warning for high winds.
And P&O Ferries has suspended all Channel sailings between Dover and Calais.
The operator says: "We expect this to be the case for most of the day and we will provide further information when possible.
"We strongly advise our customers not to travel to the Port of Dover today."
A red weather warning - meaning there is a danger to life - is now in force in London, south-east England and parts of east England, running until 15:00 GMT.
Other warnings across the UK are already in place:
Image source, PA MediaMajor roads, including the A66 cross-Pennine route and the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow, have been partially closed due to high winds.
In the South West, the Severn Bridge between J1 and J2 has also been closed and, in the capital, Transport for London urged people to avoid non-essential travel on Friday.
It comes after the Met Office took the unusual step earlier of issuing a severe weather alert with National Highways for strong winds covering the whole of the country's strategic road network from 06:00 GMT to 18:00.
Edmund King, AA president, warns: “With the Red warning extended to London and the South East we are still urging people to only travel when absolutely essential and most people are following our advice.
“However, being cocooned in your car can lead to a false sense of security and safety.
“Some of the roads may look safe now but the impending storm can bring carnage."
And the RAC's Rod Dennis warns: "If you do need to drive – and some people’s journeys are essential – the name of the game is slowing down and anticipating more and seeing how the traffic ahead of you is reacting."
Image source, Getty ImagesWe've been hearing a lot about colour-coded weather warnings this morning.
Here's what they mean:
Find the full list of Storm Eunice weather warnings here.
Behnaz Ahkgar
Weather presenter BBC Wales
Storm Eunice is deepening as we speak and it’s currently centred over south west Wales.
Gusts have reached 87.5mph in Mumbles, 79mph in Pembrey and 61mph in Milford Haven.
And we haven’t even reached the peak of the storm.
We are expecting to reach the peak in the red zone area by mid- to late morning. Severe gales will continue after that.
The strong winds are now starting to hit south-west England and south Wales. BBC Weather presenter Simon King has tweeted that with the storm still to the south east of Ireland the strongest gusts are yet to impact the majority of red and amber warning zones in southern England.
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Image source, Getty ImagesMore than 1,800 homes have lost power in Wales.
Power cuts have affected 995 homes near St Clears, Carmarthenshire, 279 in Llanelli and 312 near Lampeter, Ceredigion.
A risk to life warning has been issued amid the Met Office red weather warning, with gusts in excess of 90mph (145km/h) expected.
Find full information about the weather warnings in our main story here.
Image source, PA MediaThe UK isn't doing enough to keep up with the increasing risk of extreme weather, says the chair of the Climate Change Committee’s adaptation group.
Baroness Brown says failures in the electricity system, for example, could cause serious knock-on effects - water and communications systems may fail and people won't be able to use their phones to buy goods.
The UK will become more reliant on electricity in future so we need to plan better for these events, she tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
It's hard to pin down a single weather event and say it's caused by climate change, but scientists have become bolder in exploring the connections.
Check out out four ways climate change is contributing to extreme weather here.
Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent
While there are undoubtedly some important influences from our changing climate, it is not possible to say that climate change has “caused” this extreme event.
There has been considerable debate here among UK researchers about whether we are seeing more frequent and more intense storms as a result of climate change, but two studies after the extremely stormy winter of 2013/14 concluded there was no clear evidence for a link between climate change and increased storminess.
The UK Met Office also said in their State of the Climate, external report in 2020: “There are no compelling trends in maximum gust speeds recorded by the UK wind network in the last five decades.”
But warming can influence a storm like Eunice in other ways.
For example, a warmer atmosphere can hold considerably more moisture, which increases the intensity of downpours and hence the risk of flooding.
Climate change has also pushed up sea levels around the globe which makes it easier for storms to whip up large sea surges.
On the central question of climate change and the frequency of storms like Eunice, scientists are clear that more research is needed.
Image source, PAWaves hit Porthleven on the Cornish coast this morning
Andrew Segal
BBC South West
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Fallen trees and power lines have been reported across Devon and Cornwall as a result of storm damage.
In Devon, Plymouth Road in Totnes was partially blocked by a fallen tree, as was the B3362 between Lamerton and the turn for Sydenham-Damerel.
Felled trees have been cleared in Newton Poppleford on the A3052 and the A3072 at Brandis Corner.
In Kingsbridge, there has been flooding on Bridge Street, Prince of Wales Road and Mill Street. That water later receded.
In Cornwall, the A38 has been closed between the A390 and #B3254 near Liskeard due to a tree falling which also bought down power lines.
The A3058 at Quintrell Downs was partially blocked due to a fallen tree.
In Wadebridge, Egloshayle Road was partially blocked by tree near West Park Roundabout.
The Tamar Bridge over the River Tamar, between Plymouth in Devon and Saltash in Cornwall, initially had restrictions put in place for any wind-vulnerable vehicles on Friday morning.
Also, in Devon, the Dartmouth Higher Ferry has suspended crossings due to the storm.
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Andrew Segal
BBC South West
Cornwall's coasts saw large waves on Friday morning as Storm Eunice hit the UK.
Heavy conditions were filmed along the entire north coast, from St Ives to Bude.
Storm Eunice came into St Ives, seen here from the National Coastwatch Institution's observation point
Image source, Leah BurgessWhile Northern Ireland is not yet feeling the brunt of Storm Eunice, things are different in southern parts of the Republic of Ireland, with gusts of more than 130km/h (81mph) reported in Cork and Kerry.
There are more than 6,500 properties without power in those counties, with power outages also reported in Waterford, Donegal, Offaly, Mayo and Roscommon.
Transport has also been affected, with bus services suspended in all areas under a red weather warning (Cork, Kerry, Clare and Waterford).
Aer Lingus has cancelled a number of flights out of Cork and Dublin to the UK and the Netherlands.
Andrew Segal
BBC South West
Rubbish collections in Devon and Cornwall have been suspended, with many household recycling centres also being kept closed for the day, councils have said.
Mid-Devon District Council said its decision to suspend kerbside collections had been made "as the welfare and safety of our staff and the public is our priority".
Cornwall Council said recycling collections due on Friday would now be carried out on Saturday, but nine of its recycling centres would be closed on Friday.
General waste due to be collected today had been postponed until next Friday, it added.
Devon County Council said all of its recycling centres were being closed because of the "risk of flying debris".
Image source, Exeter AirportExeter Airport has seen several cancelled flights
In anticipation of the torrid weather, numerous bus and train services have been cancelled across the West and South West.
At least three flights arriving at Bristol Airport have been cancelled amid the high winds, according to the airport's website.
Exeter Airport has cancelled flights to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast.
Operator First Bus confirmed that all of its services in the West of England would be suspended until 13:00 on Friday.
In a message posted on its app, it said: "All bus services in Bristol (including metrobus, Bristol Park and Ride and Airport Flyer), South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Wells will be suspended until at least 13:00 on Friday 18 February."
Network Rail announced on Thursday all branch lines in Devon and Cornwall would be suspended, apart from the Exmouth to Exeter Line.
Watch: What does a red weather warning mean?
This is the first red weather warning issued for either London or south-east England since the system began 11 years ago.
A red warning is the strongest and means life-threatening weather is expected, with a risk of significant disruption to travel and energy supplies.
Only 14 red warnings have been issued for the UK under the current system - including two today and another for Storm Arwen.
A red warning - meaning there is a danger to life - is already in place in parts of south-west England and south Wales.
London, the south-east and east of England face the same warning from 10:00 GMT.
Find out how you can stay safe here:
Read our full guide to preparing for today's storm here.
High waves have already been spotted on the south Wales coast, as the red warning for winds began.
The warning - the most severe - covers parts of south Wales until 12:00.
A less severe amber warning came into force across the country from 03:00 and will remain in place until 21:00.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners to stay at home.
The Met Office issued a red weather warning for the city earlier today.
In a tweet he asked people not to take risks and only leave their homes if "absolutely essential".
Transport for London meanwhile says it is running reduced services on TfL rail due to strong winds.
Londoners can check the status of different services here, external.
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