An emergency alert has been sent to millions of people in Scotland ahead of a rare red weather warning. People with compatible mobile phones living in the 22 council areas of the country expected to be worst hit by the storm received the alert at approximately 18:00.

Several weather warnings - ranging from yellow to red - have been issued across the country, with the worst conditions expected to hit Northern Ireland and Scotland

Storm forecasters say "a strong event cannot be ruled out" in the UK - with an explosive cyclogenesis caused by a major drop in air pressure bringing the "risk of a few tornados".