Rail services and flights have been axed, with rare red weather warnings issued for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Met Office extended its rare red weather warning at 11am to cover more of Scotland until 5pm, while Northern has issued a 'do not travel' warning for much of the north, including Greater Manchester.

Storm Eowyn (pronounced “ay-oh-win”) is forecast to bring strong winds to much of the UK on Friday and into Saturday. The latest bout of severe winter weather is already causing travel disruption, with rail firms cancelling some trains on Friday – one is warning passengers not to travel north of York.

The Met Office said the newly-named Storm Éowyn could bring powerful gusts to exposed coasts in Northern Ireland, northern England, northwestern Wales and western Scotland.