Warning: Yellow

To expect: Rain

Affected areas: Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian

Start time estimate: Wednesday 6pm

End time estimate: Thursday noon

The Met Office has issued a Yellow rain warning for Central, Tayside and Fife as well as Grampian until Thursday midday. All local areas affected are listed below.

The regions will be battered by persistent rain, which is expected to start pouring on Wednesday at around 6pm before dying out on Thursday noon.

The Yellow alert for rain was announced at 10:48am on Wednesday, February 4.

A Met Office forecast said: “Spells of rain, heavy at times will develop later on Wednesday and then persist into Thursday morning. 15-30 mm of rain is likely to fall quite widely with 30-40 mm possible in some places. Some melting of lying snow is also likely. Rain will then start to turn to snow above 300 to 400 metres later on Thursday morning.”

What to expect

Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely; Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer; Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer; Some interruption to power supplies and other services likely.

What should you do during heavy 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 regions affected

Central, Tayside and Fife
Angus

Grampian
Aberdeenshire

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 noon on Thursday.