Scotland weather: National flood warning with 'major rainfall' ahead, warns agency

The Met Office has issued amber and yellow alerts for rain over the weekend

A national flood warning has been issued for Scotland, with heavy downpours expected across the country this weekend.

Amber and yellow weather warnings are in place for rain for Saturday and Sunday, with “prolonged heavy rain expected to cause widespread disruption”.

Met Office chief meteorologist Neil Armstrong said while the weekend would be “widely very wet for Scotland, the heaviest, most disruptive, rain is expected in western and central Scotland, as is reflected in our warnings”.

Within the amber warning area, 80mm to 100mm of rain is likely quite widely, with as much as 150mm-180mm possible in some of the wettest spots, Mr Armstrong said.

In a statement on Friday, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) warned the bout of heavy rainfall may cause danger to life and widespread flooding. The agency urged members of the public to keep an eye on flood updates.

Ruth Ellis, Sepa’s flood duty manager, said: “A major rainfall event is expected, bringing significant prolonged heavy rain throughout Saturday over the southern Highlands and western Central Belt, with more heavy rain in the north on Sunday.

“As a result, we’re likely to see extensive river and surface water flooding impacts across those areas. Danger to life, widespread property flooding, flooding of roads and disruption to infrastructure is possible.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain. Picture: Michael Gillen

"We would advise people living and working in the affected areas to consider any steps they need to take now to be prepared for flooding impacts and consider whether their journey is necessary.

“Regional flood alerts have been issued and more locally specific flood warnings will be issued as necessary. We will continue to keep a very close eye on the situation, monitoring 24/7 as well as working closely with the Met Office and other partner agencies.”

Sepa recommended people sign up to Floodline to receive free updates for where they live, or travel through, directly to their phone.

Ms Ellis said there will also be flood information updates on the Sepa website.

Stein Connelly, from Transport Scotland, said the weather would likely bring disruption to Scotland’s transport network in Scotland and urged anyone wishing to travel over the weekend to plan in advance.