Heavy rainfall causes landslide as almost a week's worth of rain falls

The A86 has been closed in both directions while around 50 to 60mm of rain has fallen across the area.

Heavy rainfall causes landslide as almost a week’s worth of rain falls near Inverness STV News

Heavy rainfall has caused a landslide on the A86 with almost a week’s worth of rain falling over six hours.

Areas of the Scottish Highlands have been battered by heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with trainlines, roads and properties affected.

The A86 at Roybridge has been closed in both directions after a heavy landslide.

Showers battered down over the Monadhliath Hills near Inverness from around 3pm.

SEPA have put 16 flood alerts in place across the country.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty said the downpours appear to be the equivalent of around a week’s worth of rain.

He said: “A band of thundery showers developed over the Monadhliath Hills south of Inverness around 3pm and these have merged together and moved south into the Roy Bridge, Murlaggan and Roughburn area.

“From looking at the radar there’s been some very bright echos around Roy Bridge, but without any nearby rain gauges it’s difficult to say exactly how much rain has fallen, but judging by the rain rates, I’d say around 50-60mm may have fallen between 3pm and 9pm.

“This is the equivalent of a week’s worth of rainfall over just several hours.

“Drumnadrochit on the western side of Loch Ness also had some of the most intense falls of rain today during the storms, with 34mm of rain in just one hour between 3pm and 4pm.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police Scotland would like to advise that due to landslides, there is a road closure on the A86 between Laggan and Spean Bridge.

“The B863 is also closed in it’s entirety. Diversions are in place and the public are asked to avoid the area if possible.”

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms for Tuesday, covering most of the west of Scotland.

It comes after Scotland officially reached heatwave conditions on Monday with with Threave in Dumfries and Galloway reaching 30.1C.

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