Major disruption on Scotland's roads as wind and heavy rain blasts country

Heavy rain and winds of up to 70mph are causing significant delays on many of Scotland's busiest roads this morning.

Met Office weather warnings for rain and wind are in place for most of the country on Tuesday 10 December.

Western areas are expected to be lashed by rainfall from 6:00-15:00 today, while the Central Belt, The Borders, Edinburgh and parts of the North East could experience gale force winds up to 70mph until 17:00.

Forecasters warn bus and train services are likely to be affected and water on the roads may make journey times by car longer.

Bridges

Several bridges on vital commuter routes have been affected by the winds:- Skye Bridge

- Dornoch Bridge

- Kessock Bridge

Heavy rain and high winds will strike Scotland today. Picture: John Devlin

- Erskine Bridge

- Forth Road Bridge: No high-side vehicles allowed as of 06:45

Delays on major roads

The treacherous conditions are causing delays on motorways, including the M8, M9, M77, M80 and M74 this morning.

Met Office weather warnings.

A section of the A1 in East Lothian is closed in both directions after two lorries overturned.

Traffic Scotland advises drivers to check for the latest updates on their website before traveling.

Flooding

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has added eight new flood alerts in the past 24 hours. Alerts are in place for: Tayside, Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Central, Dumfries and GallowayYes, Findhorn Nairn Moray and Speyside, Scottish Borders, Skye and Lochaber, West Central Scotland, Wester Ross and the Western Isles.

Forecasters are currently assessing the likely severity of the weather system, which if severe enough could be named as Storm Brendan.“Another soaking is due to come though on Tuesday,” said Luke Miall, of the Met Office. “The winds will turn northerly as Monday goes on.

“Storm Atiyah itself is pushing away from the UK, so Scotland is going to see a drier day, still with some showers around but some decent spells of sunshine through the afternoon. It’ll be cold, with highs of up to 7C – a little bit below average for the time of year.

“We’re going to see an overnight frost, with temperatures dropping down to -2C on Monday night.

“Then Tuesday is wet and windy – it has not currently been named as a storm, but we’re keeping a close watch on it and continuing to monitor systems.”