Millions of people in Ireland and northern parts of the U.K. are being urged to stay at home as hurricane-force winds disabled power networks.

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

Storm Eowyn Friday continued to cause power outages for hundreds of thousands, knocked down trees and disrupted transportation as it moved across Scotland and Northern Ireland into Britain's West Midlands region.