Record high winds from Storm Eowyn battered Ireland and Northern Ireland on Friday, leaving 560,000 homes and businesses without power and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of schools and public transport.

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,

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

Multiple trees have been taken down by Storm Éowyn including this one on the North Road in East Belfast Storm Éowyn has begun battering Northern Ireland, bringing with it winds of more than 90mph and leaving 93,

Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland are braced for one of the most intense storms in decades, with forecasters warning of extremely rare hurricane force winds and a danger to life

The storm brought record-breaking winds as it battered Ireland, Scotland and northern England on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of electricity customers were in the dark.