Northern Ireland has been hit by strong winds as Storm Floris touched down on Monday morning.

Several flights have been cancelled to and from Belfast City and Dublin Airports.

In the Republic of Ireland, thousands have been left without power, with the largest clusters to the west and north west of the country.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds took effect from 06:00 BST and is in place until 00:00.

There are weather warnings in place across much of the UK, with amber warnings for most of Scotland.

Wind speeds of 59mph (94km/h) have been recorded in Eglinton and Magilligan in County Londonderry, while Ballypatrick in County Antrim recorded 56mph (90km/h) and Castlederg in County Tyrone has logged winds of 53mph (85km/h).

There are a small number of power outages in some parts of Northern Ireland due to the storm but it is not classified as large scale, NIE has said.

Storm Floris is the first storm to hit Ireland and the UK since Storm Éowyn in January.

That storm sparked a rare red warning for Northern Ireland, and the first red warning for the whole island of Ireland.

Several Aer Lingus flights have been cancelled between Belfast City Airport and Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Cardiff, Glasgow, Southampton and Manchester due to the storm.

Passengers are being asked to contact their airline directly for updates on the status of their flight.

Newsportual Trust said Portstewart Strand had been red-flagged and advised visitors against going into the water. They said strong winds had caused a build up of soft sand and advised against bringing a car onto the beach.

Emerald Airlines have cancelled six flights scheduled at Dublin Airport for Monday – both services to and from Donegal and the return service to Leeds Bradford.

Met Éireann, the Republic of Ireland’s meteorological service, has issued yellow wind and rain warnings for several counties including Donegal, Galway and Mayo.

It advised people of potentially dangerous travelling conditions, due to the possibility of heavy rain and fallen trees, on what is a bank holiday in the country.

Thousands of people in the west and north west of the country are without power.

Updates on outages can be found on the ESB Networks website.

A number of councils in Northern Ireland have closed outdoor spaces on Monday:

• Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council has closed all parks, open spaces, forest parks, golf courses, caravan parks, and recycling centres
• Derry City & Strabane District Council has closed all parks, open spaces and cemeteries except for scheduled burials. Brooke Park Leisure Centre and pitches will also be closed
• Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has closed a number of facilities and outdoor areas, and advised people against using facilities like recycling centres
• Mid Ulster District Council has closed all council forest and park sites
• Newry, Mourne and Down council has closed all forests, country parks, and community trails, as well as all associated facilities and advised people not to visit play parks, beaches and other outdoor areas
• Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has said some council parks and open spaces may close at short notice if deemed unsafe

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has also advised the public not to visit affected forests and parks on Monday and Tuesday until the high winds subside.

Some councils in Northern Ireland have also warned residents to collect their bins after they have been emptied to avoid damage to property.