Scotland is being battered with life-threatening hurricane-force winds with hundreds of schools closed, transport suspended and a warning to stay indoors and avoid travel. An initial yellow weather warning for wind came into force at midnight as Storm Eowyn begins to make its way across Ireland and Scotland.

Millions of people in Scotland received an emergency alert to their mobile phones after the Met Office issued a red danger to life warning for wind. The Cabinet Office alert at around 6pm on Thursday in response to Storm Eowyn was the largest real-life use of the emergency system to date.

The Met Office has extended the yellow weather warning ahead of Storm Éowyn with strong winds and heavy rain expected to batter the county.

Forecasters warn gusts of up to 100mph during Storm Eowyn could result in flying debris and pose a danger to life, and people are urged to stay indoors. Police said no road users

The red warning will run from 10:00 to 17:00 on Friday and covers a large chunk of the central belt, some islands and parts of south west Scotland. Meanwhile the rest of Scotland is covered by amber or yellow alerts for a large part of the day.

A tornado warning has been issued for the south coast. A level two storm warning for “severe wind gusts" and "possible tornado events" is in place from today, January 23, until 6am tomorrow, January 24.