A red weather warning has been issued across Scotland's central belt as the country prepares for Storm Éowyn. The Met Office has said high winds could reach 100mph in exposed western coasts and that there could be a risk to life due to flying debris,

The Met Office issued a red weather warning for Friday as very strong winds are expected to disrupt the country.

A rare red weather warning for wind comes into force at 10am on Friday lasting until 5pm. The areas covered by the dangers to life warning are Central, Tayside & Fife, south west Scotland, Lothian Borders (including Edinburgh) and Strathclyde (including Glasgow).

A red weather warning has been issued for Northern Ireland on Friday, as dangerous Storm Éowyn heads towards the UK. The red warning for wind, posing a danger to life, has been issued, while an amber warning is in place for parts of Scotland and the north of England,

Storm Éowyn is hurtling towards the UK bringing a dangerous mix of heavy rain, snow and winds of up to 100mph. Red ‘danger to life’ weather warnings have been issued for parts of the UK for Friday as the storm approaches.

There is also a more serious amber weather warning for wind, covering Harrogate, parts of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, Penistone, Scarborough and the Peak District, in place from 6am to 9pm. The alert warns of danger to life from flying debris, power cuts and disruption as WXCharts.com maps show winds exceeding 80mph hitting the region.

Storm Eowyn - pronounced "ay-oh-win" - is expected to bring widespread disruption and could cause a danger to life as a result of flying debris, along with power cuts and damage to buildings. The amber warning - which runs from 06:00 to 21:00 on Friday - covers the south and most of central Scotland.

The national forecasters for Ireland and the U.K. both issued the most serious weather warnings Thursday about the impact of Storm Éowyn, which is expected to hit the Irish coast in the early hours of Friday before heading northeast to Scotland.

Bad weather is set to hit the country as Storm Éowyn brings severe gales. The Met Office has issued several weather warnings, including an amber wind warning for parts of north Wales on Friday with gusts of up to 90mph (145km/h) in coastal areas.

Preparations are being made in Devon and Cornwall as Storm Éowyn heads towards the UK. Devon County Council said its highways teams had drafted in extra resources to respond to any issues and additional tree surgeons were on standby.