Ireland was hit with wind gusts of 114 miles (183 kilometers) an hour, the strongest on record, as a winter storm battered the country and northern parts of the U.K. on Friday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

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

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