Yellow weather alert extended to Monday as month's worth of rain expected to fall amid amber warning

Parts of Scotland are set to be battered by heavy rain this weekend, which could see a month’s worth of rainfall in one day in some areas.

A yellow weather warning for rain came into force at 6pm on Saturday in parts of the Highlands, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Argyll and Bute.

As a result, a number of ferry services operated by CalMac have been cancelled, while ScotRail services at Kyle of Lochalsh have been cancelled due to “severe weather”.

🌧💨The weather continues to be challenging – so if you’re planning to travel with us, please plan ahead & check our service status updates before you set off: Visit: https://t.co/DbTSJ53hXx for full info.
— CalMac Service Info (@CalMac_Updates) December 16, 2023

The weather warning, which has been extended until 6am on Monday, comes ahead of an amber alert on Sunday, which will cover a more concentrated area in the Highlands and Argyll and Bute for 24 hours from midnight.

Forecasters have warned of a “danger to life” amid deep floodwater and fast-flowing water in some areas.

There are fears some areas could see a repeat of devastating flooding which blighted parts of the country earlier this year.

On Saturday, the Met Office warned that some communities may be cut off due to flooding while power cuts could occur causing loss of services to homes and businesses.

Motorists have been warned to take care on roads as spray could lead to difficult driving conditions, while public transport services could be affected by the weather.

Meanwhile Sunday’s amber warning could see up to 200mm of rain fall in parts of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute – equivalent to a month’s worth of rainfall.

Insight Philip Petrie STV weather presenter

Over the next couple of days, for the remainder of the weekend, we’re seeing a conveyor belt of frontal systems sat across the north of Scotland – this is what is bringing the persistent and at times heavy rainfall. It’s not until we get to late Sunday and into Monday that these fronts start to sink southwards and clear.

After this we are into a north westerly airflow, so things will be turning chillier from Monday, with some wintry showers.

In the meantime though we have this amber weather warning in place covering parts of the north and the northwest, and it is expected that we could see up to a month’s worth of rainfall in some parts.

For example Argyll and Bute would expect to see 250mm on average for the whole month of December, but the Met Office are predicting that within the warning zone some Highland regions could see between 150-200mm in the space of 24 hours.