Weather: North east of Scotland on flood alert

Published on 11/10/2012 11:01

Motorists are being warned to take extra care on the roads after parts of Scotland were put on alert for torrential rain.

The Met Office yesterday upgraded its existing “yellow” (Be Aware) alert to “amber” (Be Prepared) for Friday in the north east of Scotland and parts of the Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray areas, warning that these areas could see the equivalent of a month’s rainfall over the next three days.

The rain will affect most of the country today, and is also expected to be heavy across Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute, Stirlingshire, Perthsire and the southern Highlands, with potential for flooding and travel disruption.

Transport Scotland’s multi-agency response team is on standby, and Minister Keith Brown said: “Just weeks after the first major storm of the autumn, the transport network is braced for another major challenge. Our operating companies are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any weather-related issues that arise.

“A wide range of agencies and organisations are poised to react quickly to the alerts and activate their response plans for the potential impact of heavy rain.”

A yellow alert is in place for tomorrow in Orkney, Fife, Tayside, the eastern Highlands, Strathclyde, Edinburgh and the Lothians.