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Rail services and flights have been axed, with rare red weather warnings issued for Scotland and Northern Ireland as Storm Eowyn is likely to damage buildings, uproot trees and cause power cuts, the Met Office said.

As Storm Éowyn weakens and clears to the northeast of the UK, Saturday will remain a breezy day everywhere with strong winds persisting in the north. It will be drier for many, with showers replacing persistent heavy rain, these wintry in the north, especially over higher ground.

However, a major change in the UK’s weather starts on Thursday, as a front bringing heavy rain moves eastwards through the day. Conditions turn both wet and windy during the early hours on Friday morning as Storm Éowyn arrives, with rain starting off as snow over parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and higher ground in northern England.

Millions of mobile phone users got an emergency alert as people in Scotland and Northern Ireland warned to stay indoors and schools to close

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Mike Silverstone said: “The strongest gusts are likely to be felt across parts of Northern Ireland, northern England, north-western Wales and western Scotland, where exposed sites could get gusts in excess of 80mph, which has the potential to cause impacts for those in these areas.

The storm, named Eowyn, is being fueled by the same weather pattern that has brought brutal cold and a rare winter storm to the Southern United States.

Red weather warnings have been issued for parts of the UK as Storm Éowyn is set to bring wind gusts of up to 100 mph.

More than four million people across Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland have received emergency alerts on their phones in the “largest real life use of the tool to date”, the Government said.

Storm forecasters say "a strong event cannot be ruled out" in the UK - with an explosive cyclogenesis caused by a major drop in air pressure bringing the "risk of a few tornados".

Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald sounded the alarm while appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.

Thousands of schools are expected to close, with drivers also warned to stay off the roads and rail services suspended amid rare red weather warnings as Storm Eowyn gets set to batter parts of the UK.