Up to 20 flights due to depart from Belfast City Airport tomorrow have been cancelled, with a further 15 expected arriving flights also scrapped.
The cancellations are mainly domestic flights, but an early-morning journey to Amsterdam has also been called off.
All Stena Line ferries due to sail from Belfast to Cairnryan – and vice versa – have thus far been cancelled on Saturday, apart from the 7.30pm and the 11.30pm routes.
The Liverpool-Belfast ferries have also been cancelled.
While no major issues have been reported yet from Belfast International Airport, a spokesperson noted to “please take care on roads if travelling to the airport and be sure to check the latest flight updates with your airline”.
Belfast’s Christmas markets are one of multiple major events due to close this weekend, alongside a raft of sporting fixtures.
Storm Darragh arrives in Belfast on Friday, 6 December (Photo by Luke Jervis / Belfast Telegraph)
Two weather warnings have already come into force, with a third in place from 1am.
The public being are warned by the Met Office of the potential for travel disruption, damage to buildings, power cuts, and even a threat to life.
Two yellow weather warnings were issued by the national forecaster on Friday.
A yellow warning for wind began at 3pm and is lasting until 6am on Sunday.
There is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, falling trees and a small chance of power cuts, with the potential for danger to life in coastal areas or from flying debris.
Separately, a yellow warning for rain also began at 3pm and is due to finish at 12 noon on Saturday.
There is a slight chance that homes and buildings could be flooded, while there may be delays to transport if roads become overly saturated.
The most serious warning is an amber alert for “potentially damaging winds”, which is set to be in place between 1am and 9pm on Saturday.
Gusts of up to 70 to 80mph are expected around coastal areas while inland winds could reach 60 to 70mph.
Damage to buildings is possible with the potential for roofs to be blown off and power lines to be brought down.
There is the potential for disruption to roads and public transport and the Met Office has also said that “flying debris and falling trees could result in a danger to life”.
The organisers of Belfast Christmas Market also confirmed that it will not open on Saturday as a result of the treacherous weather set to hit the city.
Belfast Christmas Market will not open on Saturday over safety concerns. Pic: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX
A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately due to the expected extreme weather, it will not be safe for us to open. We recognise this may be disappointing, however the safety of our visitors and traders is of the utmost importance.
“At the moment the plan is to reopen on Sunday (December 8), however this is weather dependent.”
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed they had “made the difficult decision” to cancel the Enchanted Winter Garden events and a number of parks and public spaces will be closed off to the public for the duration of Storm Darragh.
Belfast Zoo will close on Saturday, as will all Belfast City Council’s grass and 3G pitches.
All parks and playgrounds are also closed on Saturday and Parkruns are further cancelled.
Household recycling centres and civic amenity sites will be closed throughout the day and the city’s cemeteries and crematorium grounds.
In Mid Ulster, “for the first time ever”, Santa’s Magical Forest – in Pomeroy Forest – has had to cancel because of bad weather.
Anyone booked in for the Santa’s Magical Forest Christmas experience will be contacted by the booking team there to arrange alternative arrangements, the council announced.
The rain has also caused havoc, with the Shore Road, Ravenhill Road and the Short Strand experiencing severe flooding this evening.
And various sports fans will have to pencil matches in for another date, as many games have already been postponed, including the Ulster Football Intermediate Club Championship Final between Arva and Ballinderry, and Saturday’s Premier Intermediate League clash between Queen’s University and Banbridge Town.
NIE Networks warned that power cuts can happen in extreme weather, and several outages were logged on tonight across all six counties of NI.
In the Republic, Met Eireann issued its highest level of alert covering counties Mayo, Clare, Galway, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo and Wicklow.
Taoiseach Simon Harris urged those living in areas covered by red warnings to take them “extraordinarily seriously”.
“A red weather warning does mean do not travel during that period of time, and even though it is a Friday night and coming up to the Christmas season, I’d really encourage people to heed that advice and indeed to follow closely weather advice in the hours ahead,” he said.
Here’s what has happened throughout the day:
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