New weather warnings, including an amber warning for wind, have been issued for the North of Ireland with forecasters warning that high winds from Storm Éowyn will bring a “danger to life”.
The Met Office has said that an amber warning for strong winds and widespread disruption, will be in force from 6am to 9pm on Friday.
A separate yellow weather warning for strong winds will also come into force from midnight until 11.59pm on Friday.
The forecaster has said that some areas may be affected by winds of up to 90mph on Friday, while the amber warning is in place.
The Met Office warned that injuries and danger to life could occur from flying debris, as well as large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.
The weather service also warned that power cuts are likely to occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
They added that road, rail, air and ferry services are likely to be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible. Some roads and bridges will close.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “Storm Éowyn will move across the northwest of the UK on Friday, clearing to the northeast on Friday night.
“This will bring a spell of very strong west to south westerly winds, with peak gusts of 60-70 mph fairly widely inland, 70-80 mph in some areas, and 80-90 mph along more exposed coasts and hills (perhaps even higher in a few locations).
“It should be noted that there may be a slight reduction in wind strength for a time as the centre of Storm Éowyn passes overhead, this most likely in parts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland, before winds rapidly increase again.
“Winds will gradually ease later on Friday.”
It comes as the UK braces itself for the first named storm of the year.
The entire island of Ireland will be under weather warnings due to Storm Eowyn.
Met Eireann, the Republic’s forecasting agency, has issued a nationwide Status Orange wind warning for between 2am and 5pm on Friday.
It says the storm will also bring spells of heavy rain across different parts of the country and sleet and snow.
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