Scotland has been battered by winds of up to 266km/h causing widespread disruption to transport links, closing schools and leaving tens of thousands without power.
Thousands of schools around Glasgow and the west of Scotland were closed, while every major bridge across the country was shut, flights from the main airports were disrupted and train services cut.
More than 55,000 people were left without power after falling trees brought down power lines.
The Met Office national weather service issued a red alert, its highest warning.
Gales hitting 266km/h were recorded at the summit of Cairn Gorm in the Scottish Highlands, while the main cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh were hit by wind speeds of around 113km/h.
Northern England was also hit, with several motorists stuck in floods.
More than 300 passengers were stranded for nine hours off the east coast of northern England when a ferry from Dutch port of Rotterdam was unable to dock in Hull, due to fears that high winds could damage the ship if it entered port.
A wind turbine in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland, was destroyed after bursting into flames.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Hydro, one of the energy suppliers, said some 500 staff were working to restore electricity but the storm was hampering their efforts.
"With 100m/h (160km/h) winds, it's very dangerous for engineers to climb electricity poles," she said.
