Four Met Office weather warnings have come into effect across the UK today following a trail of destruction left in the wake of Storm Eowyn.
Three yellow alerts have been issued for icy conditions across Northern Ireland, as well as regions of southern and east Scotland. One warning also stretches from Plymouth to Nottingham.
Such conditions could lead to “hazardous driving conditions”, particularly on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths as temperatures plunge below zero.
Overnight, thousands of homes and businesses in Ireland were left without power as wind speeds hit new records on Friday, including highs of 114mph.
Weather warnings for Saturday across Britain
Met Office
The Met Office has warned of “hazardous driving conditions” on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
PA
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “There will be more blustery weather throughout Sunday into Monday and potentially beyond that as the weather stays very unsettled.
“If we skip forward to Tuesday, we can see that a low is still sitting to the west and north west of the UK, and this is the most likely weather pattern for Tuesday as it is looking very unsettled.
“It is likely to stay unsettled throughout next week.”
McGivern added: “Eowyn moves onto the cold side of the jet stream and that allows it to deepen intensely and rapidly in a process known as explosive cyclogenesis.
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“It is likely to bring a spell of disruptive, damaging and even dangerous winds as it moves through.
“A very nasty swathe of strong winds is likely to move into Northern Ireland, into the Isle of Man and into North Wales, northwest England and south west Scotland, and these winds are likely to be very, very worrying.”
Yesterday, these conditions proved fatal as a man in Ireland died after a tree fell on his car, becoming the first storm-related death.
The tragic death came at the same time wind speeds hit record highs in Co Galway in Ireland at 114mph, while the nation’s previous record was 113mph in 1945.
One million homes were left without power
PA
The weather conditions proved fatal as a man in Ireland died after a tree fell on his car
PA
As a result of the severe weather conditions, commuter chaos is predicted to prevail throughout the weekend. Yesterday, at least 1,070 flights were cancelled as 150,000 journeys were affected.
Today, train companies have warned passengers that train services will continue to suffer impacts by the weather.
In an update this morning, Network Rail Scotland said work continued last night “to inspect and repair damage to the railway” after the devastating effects of the storm.
However, ScotRail warned their passengers last night that they “should not expect any trains to operate before 12 noon at the earliest” on Sunday.