A red-level weather warning has been extended nationwide to all 26 counties in the Republic on Friday.
Met Éireann says Storm Éowyn could bring life-threatening conditions and extremely destructive gusts in excess of 130km/h.
Will schools close for a red weather alert?
Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), said education institutions look set to close for the full day on Friday due to uncertainty over potential damage, electricity supply and access to transport.
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“The official guidance is clear: schools must close for the duration of the red warning, so school leaders are making preparations to close for the full day Friday in all the areas affected,” he said.
Employers in red warning areas - which has now been extended across the country - have been told they should facilitate working from home for all employees who can do so, with only emergency service workers leaving home for work if necessary.
The red warnings will come into effect in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Waterford at 2am, and will last until 10am.
In Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Roscommon, Tipperary, the red wind warning will extend from 6am to midday.
In Donegal, the red wind warning will be valid from 6am until 3pm; in Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, it is expected to last from 4am to midday; and in Clare and Galway it will be from 3am to midday.
National Emergency Co-ordination Group chair Keith Leonard warned that Storm Éowyn is going to be a “very dangerous and destructive weather event. The forecasted winds have the capacity to bring severe, damaging winds which will constitute a risk to life and property.”
“During the red level wind warnings, the public are advised to shelter in place.”
People living within the red warning area have been advised by ESB Networks to make provision for the possible loss of power as a result of the storm.
The forecaster had earlier issued an nationwide orange-level weather warning but quickly upgraded it.
The Harmonie weather model is showing gusts of 190 km/h around the Co Kerry coast at 5am on Friday, with the Dingle peninsula to be hardest hit. Inland parts of Cork and Kerry will see winds of 150 km/h, it predicts.
Very strong winds of up 150 km/h will be experienced in the midlands by 7am as Storm Éowyn crosses the country.
Met Éireann forecaster Michelle Dillon said the force of the winds expected are “highly unusual” in Ireland and red wind warnings are relatively rare.
The UK Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for all six counties of Northern Ireland.
The name Éowyn – pronounced Ay-oh-win – is perhaps most widely known as the name of a character in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. The fantasy author created the name for a female warrior, who was portrayed by Australian actress Miranda Otto in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.
It is thought that Tolkien created the name using the Old English words for horse (‘eoh’) and joy (‘wynn’). The fictional Éowyn’s people, the Rohan, were known as horsemen and women.
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