The wind speed was reported at The Needles on the Isle of Wight as millions of Britons were urged to stay at home amid "dangerous conditions".

Weather warnings are in place nationwide - including rare red warnings for wind - and the Met Office fears "significant gusts" could lead to flying debris endangering lives.

Army on standby and 13 dogs killed by falling power line - live updates

Storm Eunice has left thousands of homes without power and forced schools and businesses to shut.

It has also caused major travel disruption with road closures and the cancellation of bus and train services, flights and ferry sailings.

Here is the latest information on the weather warnings that are in force:

• A red warning for wind is in place across parts of southwest England and south Wales from 7am to 12pm on Friday. Widespread inland gusts of 70mph to 80mph are likely, rising to 90mph near some coasts

• At 4am on Friday, the Met Office issued another red warning for wind - covering the East of England including London - that will be in place from 10am to 3pm

• Amber warnings - the second-highest level - are in place across most of England from 5am to 9pm. "Extremely strong winds" are expected to develop in the South West of England early in the morning and will spread north and east. Gusts could reach 80mph in some places

• Yellow warnings for wind have been issued across parts of northern England, southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland, and are in place from 7am to 6pm. Gusts of up to 60mph are likely and may rise to 75mph in a few exposed sites

• Separately, yellow warnings for snow are in force from 3am to 6pm - affecting Northern Ireland, large swathes of Scotland, parts of the North East and North West of England, and Yorkshire

Check the weather forecast in your area

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter: "We should all follow the advice and take precautions to keep safe.

"I thank responders for all their efforts."

Home Office minister Damian Hinds said the Army is on "high readiness stand-by" to help.

He told Sky News: "We are strongly encouraging people to take precautions and make sure they stay safe."

The COBRA emergency committee is due to meet this afternoon to discuss the response to the storm.

The Met Office has warned the dangerous weather phenomenon known as a sting jet - a small area of highly intense wind inside a storm - could form later on Friday.

A list of the main closures due to Storm Eunice

Met Office forecaster Annie Shuttleworth said: "The whole of the country will be affected by the extremely strong and damaging winds, which will cause significant disruption.

"People will see significant delays to travel and power cuts, so you should avoid travelling if you can and stay at home when winds reach the highest speeds."

The Met Office also took the unusual step of issuing a severe weather alert with National Highways for strong winds covering the whole of the country's strategic road network from 6am to 6pm.

National Highways said high-sided vehicles and other "vulnerable" vehicles such as caravans and motorbikes could be blown over so should avoid bridges and viaducts.

Storm Eunice in pictures

'Storm will be worse than Dudley': Severe flood warnings in place

Across Ireland, more than 55,000 homes, farms and businesses were left without power in Ireland on Friday morning, as Storm Eunice battered the country, with numerous reports of fallen trees blocking roads.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency is urging coastal communities to prepare for flooding, with Storm Eunice "coinciding with a period of spring tides and large waves".

Further spells of heavy rain are also expected this weekend - and the current flood alerts and warnings have been issued in England:

• Ten severe flood warnings, indicating a danger to life

• 36 flood warnings, indicating that flooding is expected

• 101 flood alerts, indicating that flooding is possible

It comes days after Storm Dudley left tens of thousands of homes without power and disrupted travel services - with forecasters warning Eunice will be more damaging.

What is a sting jet? The weather phenomenon that could make this storm deadly

Half-term plans disrupted

Friday's extreme weather will also disrupt half-term plans for thousands of families, with major attractions including the London Eye, Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures confirming they will be closed on Friday.

A red weather warning was last in force during Storm Arwen in November, while several were issued in late February and early March 2018 during the so-called "Beast from the East", which brought widespread heavy snow and freezing temperatures to many parts of the UK.