Northern Ireland is in “the eye of the storm” with a real threat to life and property, the First Minister has said.

The alert was upgraded from an amber wind warning to a red warning on Thursday.

Storm Éowyn, pronounced ‘Ay-oh-win’, has been advancing toward Ireland and the United Kingdom and is expected to bring gusty winds, heavy rain and some snow to the region Friday and Saturday.

All schools across Northern Ireland are closed and thousands of homes are without power. It is the first red warning that has been issued in Northern Ireland since a new warning system started in 2011. The last time all NI schools were advised to close due to weather was due to Hurricane Ophelia in 2017.

Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland are braced for a storm spiraling in from the Atlantic, bringing gusts of up to 100 m.p.h., with forecasters warning of a danger to life.

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Schools in Northern Ireland will close on Friday after a weather warning was upgraded to status red and the Met Office warned of “very dangerous conditions” ahead of Storm Éowyn. Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan confirmed the decision before noon on Thursday following an Executive meeting.

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

Storm Éowyn is bringing destructive winds to northwestern parts of the UK as it moves in, Red Weather Warnings are in force for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

In the UK, employees have the legal right to take time off work to deal with unexpected emergencies involving dependents, such as a child. This includes situations like sudden school closures due to severe weather.

Record-breaking Storm Éowyn has managed to reach extreme speeds of 114mph with large swathes of Britain under red alert for hours to come.