Scotland’s weather: Rare fiery ball will be seen in Scottish skies

By ALISTAIR MUNRO
Published on 12/07/2012 12:30

SCOTLAND should – at long last – wake up to brighter, warmer weather on Thursday after unseasonal flooding caused chaos throughout the country.

Householders and motorists were bracing themselves for more miserable weather and were told to beware of localised downpours, but the country’s flood alert was finally downgraded late on Wednesday.

Almost 40mm of rain – nearly half the Scottish average for July – fell over Central Scotland during a 36-hour period between Tuesday and Wednesday. While the Met Office reduced amber “be prepared” warnings to yellow “be aware” status, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said the threat of flooding was still real, particularly on already sodden, low-lying land.

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: “There has been more heavy rainfall today, particularly in southern and eastern areas.

“But that is beginning to fade away, heralding some fairly decent weather for Scotland compared to earlier this week.

“The eastern side will be cloudy with some light showers, while the west will be dry with temperatures possibly reaching 19C in Glasgow.”

The risk of localised flooding remained on Wednesday in parts of Edinburgh and the Lothians, as well as the Borders.

Yellow alerts also covered Strathclyde, Central Scotland, Tayside and Fife.

In Glasgow, Hawthorn Street was closed for a period due to flooding under the railway bridge near Carlisle Street. Sandbags were also handed out in parts of Edinburgh, including Stockbridge which had suffered chaos last weekend after heavy rain left streets under 2 ft of water.

The Scottish Government welcomed the downgrading of the flood alert, but warned people to take care.

A spokesman said: “While this is encouraging news, we are not complacent.

“A meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience team involving representatives from Transport Scotland, the Met ­Office, emergency services and Sepa took place this morning to receive an update on preparations. We are confident appropriate planning and resources are in place.

“However, we would advise the travelling public and motorists to take extra care in areas that are still expected to experience heavy surface water, downpours and potentially difficult driving conditions. The Traffic Scotland control centre continues to monitor the travel situation very closely and liaise with key partners including ScotRail, Network Rail and operating companies.”

MeteoGroup said that the wet summer was caused by strong atmospheric winds blowing storms over the Atlantic towards the British Isles.

Leon Brown, meteorologist for the Weather Channel, has warned that after the wettest June on record, the bad weather could continue for several more weeks.

Meanwhile, government advisers claim around 610,000 properties would be at risk by 2035 if better planning and more investment is not made in flood defences.

John Krebs, chairman of the climate change advisory panel, said: “We must take adaptation more seriously if we are to manage the growing risks of floods and droughts. This can be done by investing more in flood defences and faster roll-out of water meters.”

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