At least two dead in UK storm Arwen

At least two people have died in the United Kingdom after the year's first winter storm battered parts of the countries with gusts of nearly 160 kilometres an hour.

The storm, named Arwen by the country's Met Office, hit parts of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland particularly hard, causing road causing road closures, train delays, power cuts and high waves.

Cumbria Police, in northwest England said a man died after a tree fell on him just before 11pm on Friday.

In Northern Ireland, a man was killed when his car was hit by a falling tree.

Though the worst of the storm appears to have passed, people have been advised to be wary of travelling on Saturday, as train networks reported disruption to services amid still-high winds and heavy snow.

"Storm Arwen has delivered some dangerously strong winds overnight, with gusts in excess of 90mph (145km.h) recorded," the Met Office's chief meteorologist Steve Ramsdale said.

"The strong winds will move south across the UK through the day, gradually weakening."