Warning: Yellow

To expect: Rain

Affected areas: Central, Tayside and Fife, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Strathclyde

Start time estimate: Sunday 2am

End time estimate: Monday 10am

The Met Office has announced a Yellow rain warning for Central, Tayside and Fife, Highlands and Eilean Siar and Strathclyde for Sunday and Monday.

The warning is covering parts of Central, Tayside and Fife, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Strathclyde. All local areas affected are listed below.

Heavy rainfall will impact the regions. The showers are projected to arrive across the areas on Sunday at around 2am, and it will persist until Monday 10am.

The Yellow alert for rain was announced at 10:52am on Saturday, January 10.

A Met Office forecast said: “Areas of heavy rain will affect western and northern Scotland on Sunday and Monday. During Sunday, as the rain initially moves in, this will readily fall as snow away from lower elevations near the west coast, but as it turns increasingly milder, snow will turn back to rain widely across the warning area. 40-60 mm of rain could fall quite widely across the warning area, but 80-110 mm of rain is possible over parts of Skye, Lochaber, Argyll and the Trossachs. This coupled with a rapid thaw of lying snow brings the possibility of some flooding.”

What to expect

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures; Where flooding occurs, there is a chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services; There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings; There is a small chance that some communities will become cut off by flooded roads; There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses.

What should you do during intense rain?

Check if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do: consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

For further details see Met Office Warnings & Advice.

Full list of local areas affected

Central, Tayside and Fife
Perth and Kinross, Stirling

Highlands and Eilean Siar
Highland

Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute, West Dunbartonshire

What is a yellow weather warning?

The Met Office has three categories of weather warning, depending on the likely impact of severe weather and also how likely it is to strike in a particular area.

A yellow warning is issued when weather conditions are expected to disrupt travel and traffic and may impact on daily routines but are not likely to pose a risk to life or property.

An amber warning is more severe and advises people to think about changing their plans to minimise the risk.

A red warning means weather conditions are expected to be dangerous with widespread damage to property and a risk to life, with the public usually advised to avoid travelling.

The Yellow weather alert for rain will remain in place until 10am on Monday.