Strong winds and very heavy rain is set to batter the east of Scotland, bringing flooding and widespread disruption to travel that could put lives at risk.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning which will be in place from 3pm on Thursday running into Friday until 6pm.
An amber warning covering Tayside, Fife, Grampian and central areas is also in place from midnight on Thursday until 3pm on Friday. Fast flowing or deep floodwater could be life-threatening, the Met Office warned, and power cuts of the loss of other services is possible.
From Aberdeenshire in the north to the Borders in the south, Scotland’s eastern coast faces unusually wet weather, said STV’s meteorologist Sean Batty.
It follows days of heavy rain which has caused problems on roads in Aberdeenshire, Angus and parts of Perthshire.
Deeside could see nearly a month’s worth of rainfall in just two days, Sean warned.
The Met Office said spray and flooding would likely lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, with homes and businesses at risk of being flooded.
Some communities may be cut off by flooded roads, the Met Office said. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will be monitoring rivers at risk of bursting their banks, including around Coupar Angus, Ruthven and Meigle.
“Rain is becoming quite an issue in parts of the country after some very wet spells recently,” said Sean.
“Usually the wettest conditions are found in the west of Scotland, and that was certainly the case last month when we experienced our wettest October on record in Renfrewshire and South Uist. But in the last few days the worst of the rain is affecting the east of the country, along with a strong easterly wind.
“Some extremely high rainfall totals look likely, especially across Aberdeenshire, Angus and parts of Perthshire. For example, the average rainfall for the whole of November is around 130mm in Deeside, but as much as 100mm could fall through Thursday and Friday – nearly a month’s worth in just two days.”
Eastern parts of the Borders and East Lothian will also see some “unusually” wet conditions.
“These areas normally get about 70mm of rain for the whole month, and around that amount is expected to fall on Thursday and Friday,” Sean said.
“At this time of year long sustainable periods of rain can cause more issues as many of the drains get blocked by falling leaves which leads to large areas of water building up on the roads, and perhaps some becoming closed off due to flooding.
“Rivers in eastern areas will be getting monitored closely by SEPA, with currently the main area of concern, around Coupar Angus, Ruthven and Meigle.”
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