Two weeks' worth of rain falls over weekend in parts of Scotland

Parts of Scotland have seen two weeks’ worth of rainfall within the last 48 hours – causing flooding and travel disruption.

Since Saturday night, the hills of North Ayrshire, with Camphill, just west of Kilbirnie, were inundated with 71mm of rain.

The Galloway Forest in Dumfries and Galloway has also been drenched, accumulating between 50-70mm since Sunday afternoon.

Weather

Scotland hit with heavy downpours as warning extended to southern parts

Millport on Great Cumbrae registered 29.2mm of rainfall on Sunday.

Holidaymakers in Ayrshire, Inverclyde, and around Loch Lomond have faced particularly miserable conditions over the last 24 hours.

However, the north of the country has fared much better, avoiding the worst of the rainfall with only a few millimetres recorded in Moray and Aberdeenshire.

Notably, Moray is the warmest part of the UK this morning, with temperatures already around 23°C at 9am, potentially reaching 25°C before a slight cooldown this afternoon.

What’s the forecast for this week?

Unfortunately, this spell of wet weather is not a one-off event. The jet stream is poised to bring more wind and rain over the next few weeks, potentially dampening the remainder of the school holidays.

On Wednesday, we can expect more wet and windy weather, with up to 40mm of rain from frequent heavy showers in the Western Isles, Skye, Lochalsh, and Lochaber. Another showery period on Friday could bring an additional 20-30mm of rain to some western areas, accompanied by windy conditions.

It’s fair to say that this week is not ideal for camping in the Hebrides, Argyll, and the West Highlands. Unfortunately, next week doesn’t look much better, with some computer models predicting autumnal weather systems heading towards the UK.

As we transition into a period where remnants of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic can be dragged towards the UK, we may experience heavy rain and autumnal gales.

So, should we write off the rest of summer, or “summer,” given it feels like it never really began? There are hints of improvement towards the end of August, and we should remember that September can sometimes bring very summery conditions.

In the first week of September 2023, temperatures nearly reached 30°C in the Highlands and Ayrshire. At the same time, it reached 22°C in Shetland, which, while not overly high, is significant for the region. If this happens again this September, it could ironically be our warmest spell of the summer, despite being in meteorological autumn! So, all hope is not lost—just keep your umbrella handy for the next few weeks.