A rare “stay at home” warning has been issued for parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland as a severe storm lashes the region, bringing dangerous 100mph (160 kmh) winds and unleashing travel chaos.

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,

Millions of people in Ireland and northern parts of the U.K. were urged to stay at home Friday as hurricane-force winds disabled power networks and brought widespread travel disruptions. Forecasters issued a rare “red” weather warning,

Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland are braced for a storm spiraling in from the Atlantic, bringing gusts of up to 100 m.p.h., with forecasters warning of a danger to life.

Storm Eowyn is caused by a band of strong winds at the top of the atmosphere called the jetstream. The stream blows from west to east, directing storms across the Atlantic to the UK.

The country is braced for strong winds, rain and snow as Storm Eowyn is set to batter the UK with gusts of up to 90mph on the way.