UPDATE 21/11 11.55am - Heavy rain is pushing across Northern Ireland and into the far south-west of Scotland at the moment. This will cross the country during this afternoon. There are 14 flood watches out at the moment and 5 flood warnings. It will be a windy afternoon for many too with gusts of wind up to 60mph on western coasts and islands.
UPDATE 20/11 5.30pm - It's clear that the worst of the flooding has been in Cumbria, Borders and the Dumfries area. Some of the shots that have come in from Cockermouth have been terrifying and of course a police officer has been killed in the town too after being swept away by raging flood-waters. More rain is on the way on Saturday and this will add more water to the ground and again cause some more localised flooding. Saturday's rain in itself is not going to cause flooding but it will add to what's already in the ground. This means it may hamper some clean up operations around the south of the country and also northern England. Watch out for further updates here.
UPDATE 20/11 00.15am - Cumbria continues to be worst hit with hundreds of people being evacuated from Cockermouth as flood waters rise. Localised flooding is still being widely reported around central, western and southern parts of the country. Heavy and at times persistent rain will continue in these ares for the next 4-5 hours before it starts to ease. Tides are expected to peak again in around an hour (1am) which will again bring an increaed risk of flooding between 1am and 3am. Keep an eye on the SEPA warnings for further updates, at the moment there are 10 severe flood warnings in force. SEPA WEBSITE.
UPDATE 19/11 3.15pm - Most of the weather news is coming out of Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway at the moment after some severe flooding there. The rain continues to come down heavily across most of southern, central and western Scotland. Central and southern Scotland will have another 12-13 hours of steady and at times heavy rain which means the risk of flooding continues as more and more water enters our river networks.
UPDATE 19/11 1.25pm - Tides are now peaking in areas worst hit by the rain which means coastal flooding is at its highest risk just now. If you live near tidal rivers or the sea you'll notice that the water is very high at the moment. The tide will start to go back out in the next hour or so and at least allow for tidal waters to retreat. After speaking to the Marine Office in Glasgow they have said there has only been one call from someone living in Saltcoats informing them of very high coastal waters.
UPDATE 19/11 12.50pm - SEPA issues three severe flood warnings for Ettrick Water, Yarrow Water and Teviot Water - all in the Borders. When SEPA issues a 'severe flood warning' this means severe flooding is expected for the area, affecting many homes and businesses, main roads and large areas of land. There is a serious danger to life and property. Act now to protect yourself, your family and your home or business.
UPDATE 19/11 12.30pm - There have been several reports of localised flooding in places - especially in central parts of the country. Part of the A9 was closed and East Plean Primary has been closed for the day. Caledonian MacBrayne is reporting disruption on its Arran, Bute, Cowal, Cumbrae and Iona services this afternoon. Gusts around 30-50mph being widely reported across central and southern parts of Scotland.
UPDATE 19/11 11.30am - Very heavy rain currently falling across most western, central and southern parts of Scotland. SEPA currently have flood warnings in force for several areas around rivers in the south-west and Central Belt.
Winds are gusting at the moment up to 50mph around Dumfries and Galloway with 40mph gusts on the Ayrshire coast. A recent gust of 37mph was recorded at Glasgow Airport. The winds themselves shouldn't be too much of a problem - although could help drive a storm surge onto the western coast around 1pm-3pm this afternoon.
Areas such as coastal Dumfries & Galloway, Girvan, Ayr, Troon, Saltocats, Irvine, Wemyss Bay, parts of the Kintyre Peninsula, Dunoon and Helensburgh could see coastal flooding due to the combination of high tides and winds pushing them on-shore.
UPDATE 18/11
During the next few days central and southern parts of Scotland will see some heavy and persistent rain which could potentially lead to flooding in places.
The areas likely to be worst hit by the heavy rain are highlighted in the map at the top of the page. The colour yellow indicates areas which may see some problems but as we head into the orange regions flooding is more likely. Dumfries & Galloway, which is highlighted in red, is very likely to see some disruption due to the weather.
Some hillier areas in the west and south-west could receive more than 100mm (4 inches) of rain between Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon.
The rain is linked in with a deep area of low pressure which will also bring strong winds at times, especially to coastal parts of Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway. These areas may see winds gusting up to 50-60mph at times through Wednesday night and into Thursday.
At the moment we are experiencing spring tides, which are particularly high tides. This means that with higher tides and the addition of more rain to top them up further we could find some rivers and burns bursting their banks. The Met Office and SEPA are working hard together to keep an eye on the situation and you can find the latest alerts for flooding by clicking here.
By Friday the main area of rain will have cleared away and we are left with a more showery scenario, however, most of these showers will again be in the west of the country where there may already be problems with flooding.
Saturday starts dry for many although during the afternoon more rain will work its way northwards along with some very strong winds - another situation that we are watching closely.
We will keep you updated on the latest here at STV Weather so keep coming back to find out the latest weather situation.
