More than 1,800 objects are blocking roads across Northern Ireland after Storm Eowyn, the Department of Infrastructure said.

A “significant” number of roads are blocked with fallen trees, branches and debris, it said, adding that it would take time to clear the obstructions and reopen roads.

“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. The safety of members of the public and our own staff is paramount,” a spokesman said.

Road users have been urged to obey closed road signs and to stay clear of any damaged electricity equipment.

CalMac has announced all sailings will remain cancelled until at least 10am on Saturday to allow for important safety checks to be carried out following Storm Éowyn.

The company said the suspension of services across the network will mean that staff and crew can safely carry out vital procedures during daylight hours to check for possible damage to vessels and port infrastructure.

Customers are advised not to travel to ports before 10am and to ensure that they check the status of their planned journey before setting off.

A further update regarding afternoon sailings will be shared tomorrow morning on a route-by-route basis in Clyde and Argyll, but disruption may continue well into the day.

SP Energy Networks said at 4.30pm that its engineers were working to restore power to 70,000 customers.

Aileen Rourke, SP Energy Networks Scotland distribution director, said: “We’ve seen wind speeds of over 100mph across our network region with conditions remaining treacherous.

“In many cases it is not safe to work to restore power but our engineers are doing what they can, both in the field and in our control room, to get the power back on for people as quickly as possible.”

The historic Darnley Sycamore tree in Glasgow, believed to be over 400 years old, has fallen due to the ferocious winds of Storm Eowyn.

The ancient tree, located just off Nitshill Road in Darnley, fell shortly after midday, with winds reaching up to 90mph at the time.

It was planted by Lord Darnley and is linked to Mary Queen of Scots.

A driver was seriously injured after a single-vehicle collision in Mauchline, East Ayrshire.

Another driver was injured when a tree fell on their van in the Balmore Road area of Glasgow on Friday morning, Police Scotland said.

John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, has urged people to maintain a “high level of vigilance” after warning that severe weather will continue overnight.

He said it would take some days for roads, essential services and rail services to return to normal after Storm Éowyn’s “exceptional weather event”, partly because it was still too dangerous for clean-up crews and engineers to operate in some places.

In statement, the Scottish government said that around 100,000 homes were without power, with severe disruption to roads, bridges and public transport, which had forced 92% of schools to close on Friday.

Police reported 11 heavy good vehicles had overturned in the winds; Swinney and the police urged lorry drivers to stay off the roads.

“Storm Éowyn is an exceptional weather event and is causing significant impacts across Scotland, with multiple reports of fallen trees and blown over vehicles. What the Met Office predicted has come our way, with gusts of 100mph winds reported,” Swinney said.

“This storm is not over yet. Even once the red weather warning expires, severe weather warnings for wind, snow and ice remain in place across much of the country tonight and into tomorrow morning.

“A high level of vigilance is still required. There are still too many lorries on the road and I urge all HGVs to follow Police Scotland advice not to travel during the red weather warning.”

Alex Houston, network operations manager for Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, urged people to stay clear of any damaged equipment or broken lines.

“Where trees have fallen they may have impacted on a power line even if damage isn’t immediately obvious, so please look out for power lines and, if in doubt, stay clear,” he said.

“We will only be able to begin to mobilise our crews when the red alert passes.

“At that stage we will be focusing on making the network safe but our plea is for everyone to remain vigilant and clear of any electricity lines.”

Storm Eowyn blew off a cheese factory’s roof in Cheshire.

“At 11.14am today, police were called to Calveley Mill, Nantwich Road (A51), Calveley following reports of the roof coming off a building and falling onto a car park and into the road,” a police statement read.

There is one report of a minor injury to a woman, the statement added.

The Guardian’s picture desk have put together this gallery of photographs related to Storm Éowyn:

A status yellow snow and ice warning has been issued for Donegal, the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann.

The warning is in place from 9pm on Friday through to 9am on Saturday. Met Éireann said icy stretches and snow showers will lead to hazardous travelling conditions.

The Isle of Man’s Department of Infrastructure has declared a major incident because of the number of fallen trees and their impact on arterial roads emergency services, the government said on X.

A sports dome in county Galway, which was described one of the largest, has been completely lifted from the ground by the storm.

The National University of Ireland Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome, opened in 2020 claiming to be one of the biggest all weather facilities of its kind.

The winds tore the inflated roof of the structure to bits, with Connacht GAA secretary, John Prenty, confirming to RTÉ Sport that it blew down at approximately 4am.

A gust of 100mph has been recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire in
Scotland, the strongest gust so far today in the UK, the Met Office said.

With 100mph winds expected, millions of people in the UK and Ireland have been urged to stay at home due to a rare “weather bomb” brought by Storm Éowyn.

In Farnaght, County Leitrim, Ireland, 61-year-old Paul Butler says he’s glad they bought a generator last year after their home lost power at 5am on Friday morning. Butler, who works for a university, says the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has told residents that they cannot give an estimate on when power will be restored.

He said:

We have trees ripped off their stumps lying in the garden, the roof of our neighbour’s outhouse has been torn and a chimney pot fell off her roof just missing her car.”

I think it could be anything between eight-to-nine days for us to get power back, which is understandable. This storm is a particularly nasty one and is still raging here. We live in an old stone building and the noise last night from the wind was deafening.”

There is so much forestry around Leitrim that many of the trees have grown up into the power lines. It means that power crews have to cut through plantation wood before they can even start repairing faults.

In December, Storm Darragh knocked out our power for four days but intermittent power cuts are becoming normal. I think climate change is catching up with us.”

Camp site manager, Rachel Ellis-Lomas, from Dalbeattie, Scotland, says she is grateful to still have power but that part of her fence and greenhouse have been lost to strong gusts. The 48-year-old says the storm is “worse” than what she is used to and that previous ones have been “nothing like this”.

Ellis-Lomas said:

From about 7am the winds have been pretty bad. Our neighbour’s shed has been blown wide open and I think our greenhouse is probably going to go over. We’ve had howling from the gusts blasting into the eaves and our lights have flickered but the power lines are not down yet.

All the schools and shops have closed and the wind is so strong the conifers are diagonal. We’re hunkering down for now as it looks a bit unsafe outside but we’ll assess the damage this evening.”

If you’ve been affected by the storm, you can share your experience here.

There will be no trains in Scotland until at least midday on Saturday, ScotRail has said.

With the impact of Storm Éowyn causing major transport disruptions, the railway operator said it will not know the full extent of the damage to its tracks and overhead lines until Network Rail carries out a full assessment, a process ScotRail says will “take quite a bit of time”.

Workers are expected to start clearing fallen trees and other debris that has landed on the tracks. As a result, all ScotRail services will be suspended until at least 12pm on Saturday.

More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled and a number of main roads closed as millions of people in the UK and Ireland have been asked to stay home amid a red “danger to life” warning due to a rare “weather bomb” brought by Storm Éowyn.

The Met Office has advised of very dangerous conditions across Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland, and significant disruption, with flying debris, fallen trees on roads, large waves and power cuts likely to affect the area covered by the red warning, where 100mph (160km/h) winds are expected.

Amber and yellow alerts for wind are in place across the rest of the UK, and going into the weekend.

No trains are running in Northern Ireland.

Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport company, said they would not be running any trains today, adding that services tomorrow may also be affected. It adds that bus services will probably be affected this afternoon and evening.

The company’s director of service operations, Ian Campbell, said that “significant work” was needed to assess the damage, undertake repairs and remove debris from the railway.

Reporters covering Storm Éowyn in the UK and Ireland had to battle against strong winds and heavy rain blowing them around while on TV.

The footage demonstrates the difficulty faced by people in those areas when going outside, with millions being urged to stay at home as 100mph winds pose a danger to life

Here are some pictures of the impact Storm Éowyn has had today:

Satellite imagery potentially shows a dangerous weather phenomenon known as a ‘sting jet’ formed over Ireland on Friday morning, according to the Met Office.

A sting jet is a small area of very intense winds, which can be as strong as 100mph or more, according to the weather service.

In a sting jet, the strongest winds usually last between three and four hours across an area as small as 30 miles, the forecaster said.

The great storm in October 1987, which claimed 18 lives, is an example of a sting jet forming, according to the weather service’s website.

The PA news agency reports that Ryanair flight FR338 from Luton to Dublin has also had issues landing. We reported earlier on a Ryanair flight to Edinburgh airport that was unable to land today (see 12.27pm GMT).

The Ryanair flight FR338 took off from Luton airport at 9.33am, and was scheduled to land back there at 12.24pm after reaching Dublin airport but being unable to touch down.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

A small number of flights to/from the UK today are experiencing disruptions due to Storm Éowyn. We are advising passengers who have been affected by the storm to check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.

Ryanair sincerely apologises to all passengers affected by these storm-related disruptions, which are entirely beyond our control and have impacted all airlines operating to/from the UK.”

A Ryanair flight to Edinburgh airport was unable to land on Friday, reports the PA news agency.

Ryanair flight RK596 from Stansted in Essex to Edinburgh airport, reached the skies above the Scottish capital but was unable to land on Friday.

The Boeing 737 left Stansted at 8.35am and touched down at the same airport two hours and 44 minutes later, at 11.19am, after circling over the Borders, according to the PA news agency.

On Friday, about 20% of all flights scheduled to operate to or from airports in the UK or Ireland have been cancelled, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. A total of 1,070 flights have been cancelled, and Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow airports are the worst affected, according to the company.

Several trees, which have been part of a Galway community for more than 60 years, have been uprooted or split in due to winds caused by Storm Éowyn. Elsewhere, a multimillion-euro indoor playing facility in County Mayo has been blown down, reports the PA news agency.

Connacht GAA’s Air Dome was destroyed as winds ripped through the facility in Bekan, near Ballyhaunis. The NUI Galway dome, which opened in 2020, hosted indoor games for all levels and ages during all weather conditions.

In a statement, Connacht GAA said:

Unfortunately, the University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome was significantly damaged by Storm Éowyn overnight, thankfully no one was hurt.

Thanks to everyone for the support, it is our full intention to rebuild this magnificent facility as soon as possible.”

In Galway in Ireland, Cathriona Heffernan, 25, described the strong winds as “scary” after she captured a video of fallen trees, which she said has been part of the community for more than six decades.

The sports scientist told the PA news agency:

[I] got woken up before the red alert even started, the winds were crazy.

Those trees have been there 60 years and outdate the houses even. It’s sad seeing them down all the same but just glad no damage was caused by them.”

She said she saw five fallen trees, which left large holes in the ground from where they were uprooted by the strong winds. “One of them split right in half so it’s scary to think just how strong the wind was to be able to do that.”

National pet charity Blue Cross have shared some advice for dog owners and how they and their pet can stay safe during Storm Éowyn.

Ryan Neile, head of behaviour at Blue Cross, said:

If strong winds are forecast in your area then think about when would be the best time to walk your dog. If it’s safer to stay indoors then you can play games with your dog to keep their brain busy. Take them out to the toilet in the garden if it’s safe to do so.

If you’re out walking and get caught in a storm, remember to keep your dog on their lead and get home as quickly as possible.”

Here are some images from Newhaven, East Sussex, today:

Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University said that climate change is making storms like Éowyn more frequent. Fowler said:

Our work using high-resolution climate models from the UK Met Office shows that climate change is making storms like Éowyn more frequent, with more intense wind speeds and much higher rainfall amounts.

Risks are changing rapidly: we are living in a much warmer world, with temperatures breaching the 1.5C warming threshold in 2024 for the first time. As the climate gets warmer we can expect these storms to become even more intense, with greater damages.”

She warned that more resilient infrastructure is needed “to adapt to a more turbulent climate”:

Recent storms show that society has not adapted to worsening climate conditions.

Countries must build more resilient infrastructure to adapt to a more turbulent climate. This will be costly, but far less costly than doing nothing.

Ultimately, only reducing greenhouse gas emissions will mitigate risks from extreme weather. But emissions are still rising year on year, committing the world to more warming and with it, more intense flooding and storm damage.”

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 1,070 flights scheduled to operate to or from airports in the UK or Ireland on Friday have been cancelled.

That is equivalent to 20% of all flights, reports the PA news agency.

The worst affected airports in terms of the number of cancellations are:

• Dublin (119 departures, 109 arrivals)

• Edinburgh (81 departures, 77 arrivals)

• Heathrow (50 departures, 58 arrivals)

• Glasgow (43 departures, 42 arrivals)

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has shared advice for passengers that may be affected by flight disruptions due to Storm Éowyn.

A spokesperson from the CAA, said:

Storm Éowyn is likely to bring considerable disruption to many looking to fly from UK airports today.

If a flight faces lengthy delays, airlines have a duty of care to look after their passengers, including providing food and drink, and accommodation if overnight.

We will not hesitate to take action against any airlines not following these guidelines.”

Guidance on cancellations and flight disruption can be found on its website and social media channels, it added.

According to the CAA, if your flight is significantly delayed, the airline is responsible for looking after you and should provide meals and accommodation if necessary. In the case of a cancellation, the airline must offer you a refund or alternative travel arrangements, it says.

The CAA adds that “airlines should proactively provide passengers with information about their rights when flights are disrupted”. But, it notes: “Compensation may not be payable if an airline can prove the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances and this may include extreme weather which affects the safe operation of the flight.”

Gale force winds and fallen trees have blocked the A77 at Minishant in Ayrshire, Scotland:

A gust of 93mph has been recorded at Aberdaron in Gwynedd, north Wales – the strongest gust so far today in the UK, the Met Office said.

Elsewhere, wind speeds have reached 92mph at Killowen, County Down in Northern Ireland; 87mph at Capel Curig in Conwy, north Wales; 86mph at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, north Wales; 86mph at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland; 85mph at Thomastown in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; and 85mph at Orlock Head in County Down, also in Northern Ireland.

The strongest gust ever recorded in the UK is 142 mph, at Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire in eastern Scotland, on 13 February 1989.

Part of a gable wall in an apartment block in south Belfast has been blown down leaving a gaping wall at the attic area.

BBC reporter Kevin Sharkey posted this video showing bricks strewn across the forecourt and the hole in the wall.

The Met Office in Northern Ireland has reported winds of between 85mph and 90mph and says this level of wind will continue through to the afternoon.

An aquarium in Galway, Ireland, posted a video of flooding and strong winds on its social media account showing how it had been affected by Storm Éowyn.

The Galway Atlantaquaria posted an update on X, sharing that a member of staff had been on site overnight to monitor the animals. It added:

High time was just after 12, & flooding started by 2.30am. Matt is safe but this is some of the worst we’ve seen. Please stay indoors & stay safe.”

Here are some more images of disruption caused by Storm Éowyn today:

Reporting from Dublin:

Met Éireann have a radar picture showing Storm Éowyn barrelling over Northern Ireland, the northern half of Ireland and Scotland at 8.30am on Friday.

The Guardian community team would like to hear your experience of Storm Éowyn and the impact it has had on you or your commute.

Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording, or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. Extreme weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.

Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. For more information please see our terms of service and privacy policy.

You can share your experience by filling in the form below, or messaging the team on WhatsApp on +447766780300.

Scotland’s deputy first minister has urged Scots in the central belt to follow the advice not to travel.

Appearing on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Kate Forbes said:

It is so important that people follow Police Scotland’s advice not to travel because if people stay at home and don’t travel then it means they don’t invite that risk to themselves.”

Forbes also warned that recovery from Storm Éowyn could “take longer than we all hope”.

“It is important our expectations are managed by how quickly things can return to normal and there may well be continuing disruption tomorrow,” she said

Here are some pictures related to Storm Éowyn via the newswires:

Train operator Northern said many of its routes are closed because of severe weather.

Some lines are blocked between Manchester Oxford Road and Warrington Central because of a fallen tree.

Services on these routes are also being disrupted by severe weather:

• Between Bradford Forster Square and Ilkley.

• Bradford Forster Square and Skipton.

• Leeds and Bradford Forster Square.

• Leeds and Ilkley; and Leeds and Skipton.

PA news agency analysis of flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows at least 334 flights have been cancelled across airports in Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

According to the PA news agency, this means about 50,000 passengers have been affected.

The number of cancellations for each airport, per PA’s count, is:

• Belfast International: 16 departures and 16 arrivals

• Belfast City: 23 departures and 20 arrivals

• Edinburgh: 74 departures and 72 arrivals

• Glasgow: 40 departures and 41 arrivals

• Aberdeen: 25 departures and 25 arrivals

This breakdown includes 18 domestic flights that were scheduled to depart from one of the airports and arrive at another. These were only counted once in the total of 334, notes the PA news agency.

Irish meteorological service, Met Éireann, has published a map of wind observations at 7am across Ireland.

Additionally, in its post on X, the weather service noted the maximum gusts and highest mean speeds recorded at 7am. You can see those below:

In a statement at the Scottish parliament, first minister, John Swinney, said:

The Met Office advice is clear, the potential impacts include danger to life, structural damage to property and transport and power disruptions.

We have to be clear, people should not travel.”

Meanwhile, Calmac Ferries and Western Ferries announced Friday’s planned sailings had been cancelled.

Glasgow and Edinburgh airports saw dozens of flights cancelled on Friday morning due to bad weather conditions.

The Met Office red warning in Scotland runs from 10am to 5pm and covers the central belt including Glasgow and Edinburgh, stretching north on the west coast to Jura in Argyll and Bute and south to Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway.