Drivers told to ‘avoid travel’ tomorrow as 100mph winds and red weather warnings impact the UK

The severe weather system is set to bring potentially devastating winds, with forecasters warning of widespread transport disruption.

The red weather warning by the Met Office will be in effect from 10am until 5pm on Friday, as the powerful storm sweeps across the country.

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Storm Eowyn is expected to bring inland gusts of up to 90mph, with exposed coasts and hills, particularly in the west, facing even more severe conditions with winds potentially exceeding 100mph.

The extreme conditions are forecast to cause extensive disruption to transport networks, with lengthy delays expected across road, rail, ferry and aviation services.

Bridge closures are anticipated across affected regions. The severe weather is also likely to cause fallen trees, flying debris and widespread disruption to power supplies.

Temperatures have been slowly rising after recent sub-zero conditions, but the powerful winds now pose a significant new threat to public safety.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: "The Met Office has upgraded their weather warnings for Storm Eowyn to the highest level, which means there will be widespread disruption to the transport network.

"I would urge people to follow police advice and avoid travel in the area affected by the red warning for wind. If you do need to travel, your journey is likely to be badly disrupted and there will likely be cancellations to rail, ferry and air services."

Police Scotland are advising people to avoid travel in areas affected by the red warning and to expect high disruption in amber warning zones.

Meanwhile National Highways has issued an amber severe weather alert for the northwest, northeast and Yorkshire regions from 7am until 10pm on Friday.

Wind speeds are expected to rapidly increase through the morning, reaching 60-70mph across much of the region. Particularly severe conditions are forecast for Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland, with gusts of 70-80mph expected around midday.

The A66 Pennine route and coastal routes including the A590 and A595 could see isolated gusts reaching 90mph. High-sided vehicles, caravans and motorbikes are at particularly high risk of being blown over, National Highways warned.

Alex Lee, automotive expert at Dick Lovett, added: "While using a smartwatch at the wheel could see drivers facing hefty fines of up to £1,000 and penalty points on their licence, having one on their wrist could potentially save their lives if they get into a car accident."

The feature uses sensors and GPS to detect sudden speed changes and automatically alerts emergency services if a crash occurs. Some devices will also send SOS messages to emergency contacts.

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Drivers can access real-time updates through Traffic Scotland's website, social media channels and radio broadcasts. The Transport Scotland Resilience Room and Multi-Agency Response Team will be monitoring conditions throughout the warning period.

For updates in England, motorists who must travel should check with their transport operators about potential service cancellations before starting their journey.