Two days of heavy and persistent rain to batter parts of Scotland as yellow weather alert issued

Parts of Scotland will be battered by heavy downpours this week as the Met Office issued a yellow weather alert for rain.

Many parts of the north and north east will be hit with heavy rain for two days, with the warning coming into effect from 6pm on Wednesday until midnight on Friday.

The warning affects Angus, Dundee, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands.

Forecasters say rain accumulations of 30-60mm are likely fairly widely inland, with as much as 80-120 mm possible over the highest ground exposed to the brisk southeasterly winds.

Following recent rain and snow thaw, flooding may occur in places, while strong onshore winds and large waves could cause disruption.

In addition, rain will fall increasingly as snow over high ground, especially on Thursday and into Friday, adding to the uncertainty as to how quickly rivers may respond downstream.

The Met Office says there is a small chance that some communities will become cut off by flooded roads and a chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses.

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

Insight Philip Petrie STV weather presenter

From midweek, things will be turning unsettled, wet and windy with spells of rain pushing through and strong winds developing. Come Tuesday, we have a large blocking area of high pressure across Scandinavia, putting us into a southerly airflow that introduces wet and windy weather. That sets the scene for the rest of the week, with areas of low pressure bringing outbreaks of rain.

There is a subtle change in wind direction to more of an easterly that will drag in colder air, meaning there is a short lived risk of snow on Thursday before it quickly turns back to rain.

For most of us Tuesday isn’t actually looking too bad weather wise. After a bit of a murky, dull, grey and damp start for some, through the afternoon it will be largely dry with bright and sunny spells. However the cloud will increase late afternoon from the south and west as low pressure arrives from the south of the UK. Overnight into Wednesday the winds will increase with cloud and increasing amounts of rain pushing in. The winds will really strengthen and by 6am on Wednesday we’ll be seeing coastal gales.

Throughout Wednesday, spells of rain continue to push further inland with rainfall totals building up. The persistent heavy rainfall late Wednesday into Thursday may lead to some flooding and by Friday, we have the potential of seeing 30-60mm of rainfall fairly widely and 80-120mm on higher ground. This is the reason the Met Office has issued a yellow warning that begins midday Wednesday and runs until midday Friday.

The week remains unsettled, with things turning colder into the weekend, so further warnings could be issued.