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A 12-hour Met Office yellow weather warning is in force until 3pm on Wednesday - Further rain warning extended across eastern Scotland for 24 hours from Thursday
- Storm Ciarán is bringing heavy rain across south west, central and north west Scotland
- A crash blocked the A9 northbound at 6.40am on Wednesday
- Railway line between Brora and Helmsdale remains closed after damage to seawall
Storm Ciarán is battering Scotland with heavy rain bringing flooding and travel disruption across the country.
A 12-hour Met Office yellow weather warning came into force at 3am on Wednesday.
A further alert has been extended covering the east of the country for Thursday into Friday.
It comes as clean-up operations in the wake of Storm Babet continue with hundreds still unable to return to their homes.
Storm Ciarán, the third named storm of the season, has already brought strong winds and rain to parts of the UK.
The M8 westbound onslip at Junction 27 is restricted due to flooding at around 11.50am on Wednesday.
A crash blocked the A9 northbound at 6.40am on Wednesday. Police and ambulance were called to the scene near Daviot.
The railway line between Brora and Helmsdale remains closed after Storm Babet saw the seawall damaged with no “definitive date” for it reopening.
A wintry setting in Braemar this morning @philippetrieTV pic.twitter.com/URvOZWskW1
— Braemar, Ballater and Deeside Weather Page (@Alonso2012F) November 1, 2023
Snow has settled in the town of Braemar in the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands with more likely to fall further north before conditions turn more wet.
/1 Due to a urgent repairs to the railway between Helmsdale and Brora, the line remains closed. Equipment and materials are on site but at the moment we have no definitive date when we'll be able to run trains again through this area because of the site's remote location. pic.twitter.com/WlNxaQ25h0
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) November 1, 2023
Parts of southwest, central and eastern Scotland will see homes and businesses flooded, bus and train services disrupted with driving conditions made difficult, the Met Office said.
Another yellow weather warning has been extended into Scotland covering the all of the east on Thursday. It is in force from 6am and lasts until 6am on Friday.
Met OfficeFollowing recent very wet weather, further heavy rain is expected to affect Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, and Strathclyde spreading from south to north through the course of Wednesday.
Rainfall amounts are likely to reach 20-30 mm widely, with a risk of 40-50 mm in some locations, mainly over higher ground, the Met Office said.
“While Storm Ciaran will largely affect England and Wales with the worst of the wind and rain, Scotland will once again experience another spell of very wet weather in the coming days,” said STV meteorologist Sean Batty.
“Again the worst of the rainfall will fall in the east of the country, especially over higher ground.
Jeff J Mitchell via Getty Images“In the easterly air flow between Wednesday and Friday 40-60mm of rain could fall fairly widely over Easter Ross, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire, East Lothian and the Borders.
“This is less rainfall than we got from Storm Babet, however, water tables are still higher than normal and this extra rainfall could again lead to some flooding issues.
“The highest risk of flooding on this occasion looks like it’ll be across East Lothian and the Borders Thursday into Friday with a lesser risk in the wider eastern area stretching from Aberdeenshire to Fife and Midlothian.
“Stronger southerly then easterly winds will also bring some large waves and a risk of coastal issues from overtopping of sea walls around Ayrshire on Wednesday and then Orkney and the east coast on Thursday and Friday.”
Seven people died due to the severe weather during Storm Babet, including three in Scotland; Wendy Taylor, 57, of Perthshire; John Gillan, 56, of Arbroath; and Peter Pelling, 61, also of Arbroath.
Police ScotlandSeven dead and hundreds lose homes in Storm Babet
It comes as work continues in the recovery of Storm Babet.
The A90, between Forfar and Brechin, Angus, was reopened in both directions from Dundee to Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, under a contraflow, after engineers were able to examine two “high-risk” structures hit by the storm.
Wild weather caused considerable erosion of the bridge at Finavon, carrying the A90 over the River South Esk, and a contraflow traffic management system was introduced to enable safe crossing until repairs are completed.
Getty ImagesA GoFundMe page set up by Brechin Flood Relief has so far raised £45,000 to help families who have lost their homes.
An anonymous donor gave £2,500.
The gym at Brechin Community Campus was “half full” of items donated to help families in need.
The storm claimed three lives in Scotland including that of Peter Pelling, from Arbroath, who became trapped in his car in floodwater.
A search was launched at about 3am on Friday after police received a report near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire.
Mr Pelling’s body and car were recovered on Monday.
Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday.
John Gillan, 56, also died on Thursday after a tree hit his van as he was driving on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar.
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