An enormous bomb cyclone will slam Ireland late Thursday, bringing intense rain and wind on its way to delivering a separate blow to the United Kingdom. Damaging winds are expected across a wide swath of the region.

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.

Experts warn the explosive "bomb cyclone" will bring deadly winds, heavy rain and snow and is expected to cause widespread disruption across the UK. A wind speed of 114mph brought by Storm Eowyn has been recorded in Ireland, the fastest since records began, forecaster Met Eireann said.

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

The storm had knocked out power to more than half a million utility customers by early Friday as it moved across Ireland.