Ireland has been hit with record wind gusts of 114 miles (183 kilometers) an hour as a winter storm batters the country and northern parts of the U.K. Schools have been closed, trains halted and hundreds of flights canceled in the Republic of Ireland,

TRAVEL chaos caused by Storm Eowyn has forced a change in referee for Leinster’s game against the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship. The devastating storm has wreaked havoc across

The Met Office issued the red alert for Northern Ireland until 14:00 GMT, emphasizing the severity of the situation.

The red warning for the whole of Northern Ireland will be in force until 14:00 on Friday. It is the first time a red weather warning has been issued for Northern Ireland since an impact-based system was introduced in 2011.

Micheál Martin became Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) for the second time in his political career on Thursday, a day later than planned.

The storm had knocked out power to more than half a million utility customers by early Friday as it moved across Ireland.

Millions of people in Ireland and northern parts of the U.K. are being urged to stay at home as hurricane-force winds disabled power networks.

Storm Éowyn – pronounced "ay-oh-win" – and the fifth named storm of the season will undergo rapid development during Thursday as it moves across the Atlantic. It will be fuelled by a very powerful jet stream which is fast moving air high in the atmosphere where wind speeds are around 260mph (418km/h).

Hundreds of flights are canceled and ground transportation is suspended as a severe winter storm sweeps across the UK and Ireland on Friday.