An amber wind alert has been issued for some areas of the UK on Friday, with the Met Office warning there could be “a danger to life” due to flying debris.
Parts of northern England and Scotland are expected to be affected by Storm Eowyn from 6am through to 9pm on Friday.
Gusts could top 60-70mph fairly widely, but reach 80-90mph along more exposed coasts and hills.
Met Office yellow and amber warnings ahead of Storm Eowyn
An amber warning applies between 6am and 9pm on Friday
The powerful storm is expected to bring “very strong winds and widespread disruption”, according to the Met Office.
There are separate yellow warnings for wind, rain and snow covering various parts of the UK on Friday, with a yellow warning for wind in Scotland continuing until 3pm on Saturday.
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Storm Eowyn set to wreak havoc across UK
Meanwhile, a rare, red wind warning has been issued by Ireland’s weather service ahead of the arrival of Storm Eowyn, threatening to bring “severe, damaging and destructive gusts”.
Gale force southerly winds “of up to 130kmh [80mph] widely, with even higher gusts for a time” could be expected, according to Met Eireann.
Ireland’s weather forecasters have set a wind warning to “status red” for counties in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick between 3am and 10am on Friday.
-Orange and red warnings have been issued for Storm Eowyn by Irish forecasters. Pic: Met Éireann
A red warning is only issued for “rare and very dangerous weather conditions”, according to the forecaster.
A “status orange” warning, which is the same level as “amber” in the UK, applies to all of Ireland’s counties between 2am and 5pm on Friday.
Potential impacts include fallen trees, power outages, dangerous waves on the coast, structural damage and travel disruption.
Almost exactly a year after Storm Jocelyn battered Fanore in County Clare, the same area is covered by a red warning ahead of Storm Eowyn on Friday. File pic: PA
Met Eireann said it will start to become “very stormy” on Thursday night, before the centre of Storm Eowyn tracks just off the northwest coast on Friday morning.
This will be followed by a “swathe of extremely strong and damaging winds extending across the country bringing disruption”.
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Sky News weather producer Chris England warned that parts of the UK also faced rain and snow.
“Expect up to 4cm (1.6in) of rain over the Welsh hills, up to 10cm (4in) of snow over the hills of northern England and southern Scotland for a time and up to 25cm (10in) of snow over the hills further north.
“Drifting and blizzard conditions are likely, given the strong winds,” he said.
A yellow warning for wind has also been issued by the Met Office between 7am and 6pm on Thursday covering coastal areas of west Wales, southwestern and southern England.
Forecasters predict a band of heavy rain as well as a spell of strong and gusty winds between 50-60mph over exposed coasts and hills.
