The warning is in place from 7am to 12pm on Friday for along the coastline of Devon and Cornwall as well as the south coast of Wales as extremely strong winds are predicted - and residents are being warned to stay at home.

The Met Office said the turbulent weather could see "flying debris resulting in danger to life" and "damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down".

Heavy snow and 100mph gusts on the way - follow latest updates

The highest level of alert for southwest England comes after the Met Office upgraded its "danger to life" amber alert covering almost the whole of England - warning of more outages, flooding and travel chaos on the roads and train lines.

A major incident has been declared in Cornwall with residents being advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary, and to stay away from exposed coastal areas - with dozens of schools set to be closed on Friday.

Emergency COBRA meeting takes place

Forecasters have warned Eunice will be more damaging than Dudley, which left tens of thousands of homes without power, downed trees, disrupted travel services and caused flooding in areas.

The Met Office said a red warning means "dangerous weather is expected" with it "very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure".

Check the forecast in your area

People are also advised to avoid travelling where possible with Storm Eunice predicted to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions.

School closures announced

Bristol City Council has advised schools in the area to close on Friday following the guidance to refrain from travelling and Mendip District Council has announced that "all schools, early years settings and colleges in Somerset will close" due to the storm.

Most schools across North Wales are expected to shut their gates on Friday, with schools in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham having already made announcements to this effect.

Read more: Transport, schools and tourists attractions - a list of the main closures

A COBRA emergency meeting - led by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis - met on Thursday "to discuss the response to Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice", the government said.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that shelters are being opened on Thursday evening for people who are sleeping rough.

The scheme, known as London's severe weather emergency protocol, usually operates when temperatures drop to below freezing and could see a threat to individuals' lives.

Ten severe flood warnings in place

The Environment Agency has issued ten severe flood warnings for parts of the Severn and Wye estuaries in south-west England and south Wales ahead of the arrival of Storm Eunice, meaning there is a "danger to life" from strong winds, high waves and a high tide.

Severe flooding to homes and main roads is expected on Friday morning along the Severn estuary at Broadoak, Epney, Framilode, Frampton, Newnham, Priding, Saul and Westbury, and as well as the tidal Severn from Elmore to Rodley and the areas of Hempsted, Minsterworth and Stonebench near Gloucester.

Similar warnings are in place on the Wye Estuary at Brockweir and at Elmdale in Chepstow.

People in these areas should "take action immediately" and implement emergency flood plans, the Environment Agency said.

A further nineteen flood warnings are also in place for Friday in areas where flooding is "expected".

Yellow wind and snow warnings in place too

Storm Eunice will move in on Friday and the Met Office has issued yellow and amber warnings for wind and snow through to Friday evening.

An amber wind warning covers Wales and central and southern England, where gusts will widely reach 60-70mph on Friday, with up to 90mph possible in some spots.

A yellow wind and snow warning covers northern parts of the UK.

The Met Office has also put a yellow wind warning in place for the south coast, the South West and south Wales on Saturday.

Read more:
What is a sting jet and how could it make Storm Eunice deadly?

No rail services in Wales on Friday

All trains in Wales will be cancelled as a result on Friday as Storm Eunice hits the UK with a Network Rail spokeswoman warning that disruption is likely to continue into the weekend.

In South Wales, bus company Stagecoach said all services would be suspended on Friday morning until after 1.30pm.

Cardiff Crown Court and Newport Crown Court will also be closed o Friday due to the weather.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles has cancelled a planned visit to Newport and Swansea on Friday as a result of the forecast.

Both Thameslink and Great Northern have also said their train services will be significantly revised on Friday.

Elsewhere, Avon and Somerset Police said it was likely that both the Severn crossings, the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge, would be closed due to high winds.

Top London tourist destinations the London Eye, Thames River Cruise, Legoland and the Royal Botanic Gardens in London have also announced they will be closing their doors on Friday.

Others to make the same decision include Chester Zoo, Marwell Zoo near Winchester, Warwick Castle and Monkey World in Dorset.

Storm Dudley outages, travel chaos and damage

On Wednesday, Storm Dudley winds hit 81mph in Capel Curig in North Wales, while Emley Moore in West Yorkshire recorded 74mph.

Northern Powergrid, which maintains electricity networks across northern England, said about 19,000 homes and businesses suffered power outages during the storm and it was working to reconnect 1,000 properties which still had no lights on Thursday morning due to the weather.

A parked car in Salford was crushed after strong winds blew bricks off the side of a house on to it and, in Cardiff, a train named after NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore hit a trampoline blown on to the track.

Meanwhile, winds forced a plane carrying the Manchester City football team to abort a landing in Manchester.

How often are red warnings issued?

Red warnings are issued rarely: the last one was in November 2021 ahead of the arrival of Storm Arwen, which saw very strong winds batter areas on the east coast of Scotland and northeast coast of England.

Before then - several were issued across the UK in late February and early March 2018 during the so-called "Beast from the East". The winter storm brought widespread heavy snow and freezing temperatures.