Amber rain warning
Heavy rain is set to bring disruption to the transport network in parts of Scotland, following an amber warning from the Met Office.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for rain, covering Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, East & West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Lochaber, parts of Stirling, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands. It will be in place from 3am on Saturday 7 October until 6am on Sunday 8 October. A yellow warning for rain remains in place for large parts of central and northern Scotland throughout Saturday until early on Sunday morning.
The rain will bring difficult driving conditions, such as reduced visibility and surface water. Police Scotland is warning of a high risk of disruption to travel in the areas affected by the amber warning.
The Multi-Agency Response Team will be operational throughout the amber warning period and our Operating Companies will carry out inspections of culverts and flooding hotspots, as well as mobilising equipment, ahead of the warnings coming into effect.
Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:
“The Met Office is forecasting heavy rain this weekend, which will likely bring disruption to the transport network in parts of Scotland.
“It’s important people plan their journeys before they set off. Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow the travel advice from Police Scotland and drive in accordance with the conditions. The Traffic Scotland twitter/X page is regularly updated and the mobile website - my.trafficscotland.org - lets people get the latest information on the move.
“If you are planning to travel by train, ferry or plane, please check with your operators to see if the conditions are having any impact on your services.”
Chief Superintendent Hilary Sloan, head of Road Policing, said:
“Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary or if it can be delayed until conditions improve.
“Stopping distances can be at least double on wet roads compared to dry conditions, and spray can reduce driver visibility.
“If you need to travel, please drive to the conditions and take extra time for your journey.”
Ruth Ellis, Flood Duty Manager for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said:
“This is a major rainfall event as we are expecting to see significant prolonged heavy rain throughout Saturday across the Southern Highlands and western Central Belt, with further heavy rain in the north on Sunday.
“We’re likely to see extensive river and surface water flooding impacts, including property flooding and widespread transport disruption.
“We would strongly advise people to sign up to Floodline to receive free updates for where they live, or travel through, directly to their phone. People can also check our Flood Updates for all the latest information and the three-day Scottish Flood Forecast to see what conditions are expected further ahead.
“We will be keeping a very close eye on the situation and monitoring 24/7 along with the Met Office and other partner agencies”.