High winds and huge waves are affecting north-western parts of the UK as bad weather hits power supplies and travel.
The "weather bomb" storm has brought hundreds of lightning strikes, temporarily cutting power to across the Western Isles, affecting 17,000 homes.
The Met Office has warned parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland to "be prepared" as the rapidly developing storm threatens gusts of up to 80mph.
Wind speeds are expected to peak on Wednesday afternoon and early evening.
BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood said it would be a "wild" day from north Wales northwards, while it would be "blustery" further south.
Explosive cyclogenesis - known colloquially as a "weather bomb" - is when a storm intensifies as the pressure at its centre drops rapidly (by more than 24 millibars in 24 hours).
Speaking from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Donald MacLeod, coxswain of the island's lifeboat, said there was rain, hail and "plenty of wind".
He said the storm had "grown through the night", adding: "The swell conditions are pretty bad to the west - it's showing about 14m (45ft)."
Mr Macleod said this was "a lot deeper than we normally see" and was "definitely something to be wary of".
Power supplier Scottish and Southern Energy said the problem affecting the Western Isles was caused by lightning, but electricity has now been restored to most homes.
Western Isles Council said all schools and nurseries would be closed, along with many other facilities. Many schools in the Highlands are also closed.
In Aberdeenshire, about 20 vehicles got stuck in icy conditions on the B974 Banchory to Fettercairn road. A gritter was sent and the vehicles were later freed.
Ahead of the forecast storms, ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne warned of severe disruption to its services.
In other developments:
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How common are weather bombs?
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What is a weather bomb? BBC weather's Peter Gibbs explains
Weather bombs happen fairly regularly.
There are usually several each year and they are more common in winter.
They are more likely to happen when the jet stream is strong.
Whether the weather bomb has an impact on the UK depends on where it happens.
In this case, according to BBC Weather's John Hammond, the problem is not so much the wind, but the colossal waves which have formed out at sea and are now moving towards UK coasts.
The Met Office's amber "be prepared" warning is in effect for the Northern Isles, Western Isles, north and west Highlands and Argyll, as well as the far north of Northern Ireland.
There is also a less-severe yellow warning covering the rest of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as north Wales and northern England.
Numerous flood warnings and alerts have also been issued, mostly in Scotland.
Richard Brown, of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said Caithness, Sutherland, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland were at the greatest risk of coastal flooding.
Argyll and Bute, the Firth of Clyde, Clyde estuary and Dumfries and Galloway could also be affected, he said.
The strongest wind gust recorded so far was 81mph (130km/h) on Tiree in the Inner Hebrides.
Gusts of more than 60mph (95km/h) have been recorded in Northern Ireland, where the speed limit on the Foyle Bridge in Derry has been reduced to 30mph.
A second storm front is expected to track across the country overnight on Thursday, the Met Office said.
It said there could be gales and a band of heavy rain across much of England and Wales during the first half of Friday, which could then push eastwards before easing in the early afternoon.
Height of the wavesFrom the BBC:
Elsewhere:
Network Rail said some services in Scotland would be cancelled due to the weather.
These are the services from Inverness to Wick/Kyle of Lochalsh, Glasgow Queen Street to Oban/Fort William/Mallaig, Dumbarton Central to Helensburgh Central, Glasgow Central to Largs/Ardrossan Harbour and Glasgow Central/Kilmarnock to Ayr/Stranraer.
The company said replacement bus services would be considered, but these were dependent on road conditions.
ScotRail said services had started "quite well" on Wednesday morning.
But operations and safety director Jacqueline Dey said: "We have had a number of lightning strikes, which has caused some disruption on the Edinburgh-Glasgow Central via Shotts line and the Perth area."
A CalMac ferry spokesman said severe weather along the west coast on Tuesday had caused "extensive disruption" to its services, with further cancellations expected.
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