Image source, PA Media

Ferocious winds brought by Storm Éowyn battered the UK and Ireland on Friday, leaving one person dead, thousands of homes without power and some transport services in disarray.

Two red warnings - the most serious alert the Met Office can issue - were in force in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland until 17:00 GMT. Millions of people were urged to stay at home, as gusts of 100mph (160km/h) were recorded.

In Ireland, a man died when a tree fell on his car in Raphoe, County Donegal, gardaí (Irish police) said.

One in five flights in the UK were cancelled and all trains halted in Scotland on Friday. Every school in Northern Ireland was closed as the storm damaged buildings and tore down trees.

Amber warnings remain in place in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, and yellow warnings for wind, rain, snow and ice are in force across the UK over the next few days.

The strongest winds have passed, but the storm is still expected to bring gusts of more than 80mph (128km/h) across the coast and hills of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

We'll be pausing our live coverage shortly, but we've got more on the aftermath of Storm Éowyn in our news story. Thank you for joining us.

Image source, Reuters

• Storm Éowyn will gradually clear over the weekend across the UK, but an ice warning will cover much of England and Wales into Saturday
• In Scotland, wintry showers and possible thunder could follow strong winds on Saturday, the Met Office says
• A yellow wind warning will be in place across all Scotland, excluding the borders, until 15:00 on Saturday, with wind gusts likely to peak at 80mph in the north

• Northern Ireland will see a yellow snow and ice warning lifted at 10:00 on Saturday, though gusts of 60 to 90mph are expected throughout the day
• Further wet and windy weather is forecast on Sunday and into the start of next week in southern England, much of Wales and Northern Ireland
• Forecasters are warning of flying debris resulting in danger to life, and say further power cuts and damage to buildings may occur

Image source, PA Media

Police in Northern Ireland say they received more than 2,000 calls on Friday, as the force urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel.

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said the calls were "around 50% more than we would usually expect to see on a normal Friday".

Beck adds that many roads across Northern Ireland are still blocked with fallen trees, power lines and debris.

"I urge people to stay clear of these," he says.

We've been hearing from Bryan Simpson, from Unite, who tells Radio Scotland's Drivetime his union has been inundated with thousands of workers calling to say they had been told they needed to go to work.

Staff in cafes, restaurants and hotels were told by their employer they need to come in, says Simpson.

Some managers of these companies offered to pick up their employees despite the rare red weather warning, he adds.

"From our perspective, workers have a legal right under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act to refuse work when there is a serious and imminent threat to their safety," Simpson tells the programme, adding that people are having to choose between their pay packet and their safety.

The power in Forth Valley Royal Hospital in central Scotland has been restored after a "brief power outage" this afternoon, the hospital says.

"There was a short period before the back-up generators came onstream, where contingency arrangements were required to be put in place," it says in a statement.

The hospital adds that phone lines into it were affected "for a period of time" but that they now had been restored.

Here's a look at some of the latest pictures of the damage caused by Storm Éowyn across Ireland and the UK:

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

As Storm Éowyn continues to batter the UK and Ireland, here's a look at the impact of the storm so far:

• Ferocious winds: Wind gusts of 101 mph (162 km/h) were recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire, Scotland - the highest since records began there in 1991. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said the storm was "an exceptional weather event"
• Weather warnings: Ten weather warningsare currently in place. These include an amber warnings for wind today in parts of Scotland, north west England and north east England, as well as a yellow warning for snow and ice today in areas of Northern Ireland. A yellow warning for rain for Sunday has also been issued for parts of the East Midlands, London and South East England and Wales

• Power outages: The National Grid has reported 4,510 properties without power. In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks said about 283,000 customers were experiencing outages, while in Scotland, 117,000 homes were affected
• For more on travel warnings, take a look at our recent post

About 138,000 people across Ireland are without water this evening, with supplies for a further 750,000 at risk, Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) says

The utility company warns that the number of those without water is "likely to increase" amid power outages at treatment plants and pumping stations.

Large areas are without water across locations including Kerry, Clare, Tipperary and Galway.

Restoration work had begun on a phased basis after the red weather warning was lifted earlier in the day.

The company warns disruption "may last a number of days".

A little earlier, the Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure said there are more than 1,800 objects blocking roads.

This includes fallen trees, branches and debris following Storm Éowyn.

The department says it would take time to reopen some roads and clear the "significant" number of obstructions.

"Staff are on standby to respond to incidents, but our response time is being affected by the adverse conditions and incidents will have to prioritised accordingly," a statement adds.

Eight cars have been crushed after high winds from Storm Éowyn ripped part of a building's roof off.

A large metal sheet was torn off JS Bailey Cheese on Nantwich Road in Calveley, Cheshire, at about 11:00 GMT on Friday.

One woman suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene by paramedics, police said.

Eight vehicles were trapped underneath the sheet, according to Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, but nobody was inside them.

Garry Mackay from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service tells Radio Scotland's Drivetime it's been a challenging day right across the country, but firefighters "are starting to see things ease down ever so slightly".

Mackay says at the peak of activity there were around 250 to 300 incidents due to the weather alone in a four-hour period today.

"They were incidents that involved road traffic collisions, debris entering the roadway and a significant amount of trees falling down and impacting on roads and homes around the country," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

Rail:

• ScotRail suspended all services across Scotland until midday Saturday at the earliest
• In London, there are delays on the Elizabeth Line after a tree fell on the line at Brentwood. There are also severe delays on parts of the Mildmay line and the Piccadilly line is partially closed
• Rail services including LNER, Lumo, Merseyrail and TransPennine Express have also been affected. Check your journey before you travel, external

Road:

• The M62 Ouse Bridgein East Yorkshire and the A19 Tees flyover in County Durham are closed to high-sided vehicles, according to National Highways
• The A550 in Cheshire is closed in both directions between the A41 (Hooton) and the A540 (Two Mills) after a fallen tree was struck by an HGV
• The A628 in Derbyshire/South Yorkshire is closed in both directions between the A616 (Flouch) and the A57 (Hollingworth) due to strong winds

• The RAC says those in northern England and north west Wales - where amber warnings are in force - should "take great care if setting out"

Flights:

• More than 1,000 flights were cancelled in Ireland and the UK, with Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow airports being the worst affected, according to aviation analytics company Cirium
• Edinburgh airport warns of the "knock-on impact" over the coming days, saying that operations will only resume "when safe to do so"
• Earlier this afternoon (16:15), Dublin airport said flight operations were "moving well" following "significant easing of winds" - warning some delays remain possible

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Scotland's deputy first minister is urging people still to take care this evening as the red wind warning is moved down to the amber level - a warning similar to that of First Minister John Swinney earlier.

In her latest interview with the BBC, Kate Forbes said the amber warning is "still serious" and road users should heed the advice of Police Scotland who continue to warn against travel.

She said the emergency services should not be put at risk and expressed frustration at the number of HGVs still on Scotland's roads - saying police had dealt with at least 11 incidents of lorries over-turning due to high winds.

The deputy first minister said no employer should put employees under pressure to ignore police advice.

With significant damage done to Scotland's rail network, Forbes said the earliest possible time to re-open rail routes would be at noon on Saturday.

The government said around 100,000 homes had been left without power but Forbes said that during the red warning the power companies still had to protect their employees - although work on re-connecting supply should be underway now.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) says it could take up to 10 days for power to be restored fully to homes and businesses.

Hazards, like fallen trees blocking overhead lines and road closures are delaying repairs, Randal Gilbert, NIE network assets director, tells BBC Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

An amber alert for wind is still in effect for Northern Ireland until 21:00, which is also making repairs difficult.

As of 17:00, about 250,000 customers are still without power, with NIE saying it could take until late next week for the last person to get power fully restored.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) also confirmed that throughout the day, it received 2,000 calls - 50% more than what they would normally receive on a Friday.

The video above shows a Ryanair flight from Budapest making a shaky touchdown in Edinburgh, after a first attempt was thwarted by Storm Éowyn's winds.

The pilots managed to land the plane safely on their second attempt at about 08:30 this morning.

The wall of a Co-op store in Denny, Scotland, has collapsed after it was hit by Storm Éowyn's strong winds.

Local residents have sent us an image showing rubble and bricks on the pavement below.

Falkirk Council says Stirling Street is now closed between Denny Cross and Davies Row.

The red weather warning for Scotland has ended, having been in place since 10:00.

However, that doesn't mean it's safe to head back out - an amber weather warning for wind is now in place for large parts of the country, including:

• Central, Tayside & Fife
• Grampian

• Highlands & Eilean Siar

• Orkney & Shetland
• Strathclyde

It will remain in place until 06:00 on Saturday, with officials warning conditions will still pose a danger to life and risk of injury.

A man has died after a tree fell on a car in Raphoe, County Donegal early this morning, Gardaí (Irish police) confirmed.

"A male driver, was fatally injured during the incident. The body of the deceased remains at the scene at this time," police said in a statement.