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.

Millions of people in Ireland and northern parts of the U.K. have heeded the advice of authorities to stay at home

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