Schools were closed and trains, ferries and more than 1,000 flights were canceled in the Republic of Ireland and the U.K., even as far south as London Heathrow, as the system, named Storm Éowyn (pronounced Ay-oh-win) by weather authorities, roared in.

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

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