Rare red ‘danger to life’ warning issued ahead of Storm Iovine

A red warning has been issued for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Friday as dangerous Storm Iovine heads towards Britain.

Rare warnings for wind gusts mean that flying debris can pose a threat to life, with gusts of up to 100 mph (161 km/h) possible on some exposed beaches.

The Met Office has warned people of the possibility of roofs blowing off buildings and major disruption to travel.

An amber warning is also in place for parts of Scotland and the north of England on Friday. The rest of the country will face strong winds, rain and snow, with at least one yellow warning in place across the country as Storm Iovine moves into Britain.

A red warning for the whole of Northern Ireland will be in place from 07:00 to 14:00 on Friday, affecting the morning rush hour.

Then as the storm moves eastwards, a red warning is issued from 10:00 to 17:00 across the central belt of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.

There, winds will increase rapidly from morning to afternoon with maximum winds of 80-90 mph (129-145 km/h).

A large number of trees will be likely to fall and there will be widespread disruption to travel, roads will be severely affected, flights, trains and ferries will be cancelled.

There is also a possibility of power outages, some of which could last for several days.

The Met Office has warned that it is very likely there will be a risk to life and people should avoid traveling where possible.

BBC Weather said it could be the storm of the century for the Republic of Ireland.

Irish forecasters Met Éireann have already issued a widespread red weather warning for the entire Republic of Ireland with gusts in excess of 80mph.

Widespread disruption to transportation and power, as well as structural damage, is guaranteed.

Meanwhile, an amber warning for wind is in place for northern England, northern Wales and the central belt of Scotland from 06:00 GMT until 21:00 on Friday.

Train operators Avanti, LNER, Lumo and Northern issued warnings against travel in northern England and northern Wales on Friday.

However, the big change in UK weather begins on Thursday, as heavy rain and strong and gusty winds sweep across the country.

Parts of the south coast of England, the south west and much of the Welsh coast are under a yellow weather warning for wind until 18:00 GMT on Thursday.

It is likely that the marine front will be affected by spray and large waves and by lightning and travel disruption.

Storm Iovine will begin to impact the UK on Friday morning, initially bringing heavy rain to the south-west of the UK and then rapidly spreading north-east to the rest of the UK.

There is also a possibility of snowfall in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of the North.

The yellow warnings in effect on Friday are for:

• Wind from 05:00 to 15:00 in the Midlands, East of England, London and parts of South East England
• Rain will fall across parts of Wales, the South West and West Midlands from midnight to 09:00
• Wind in most parts of the country from midnight to 23:59
• In Scotland, snow in parts of the north east, north west from 03:00 to 12:00

Hurricane Eowyn is the fifth named storm of the season.