WET weather warnings have been expanded for Scotland and other parts of the UK as forecasters warn heavy rain could bring flooding and travel disruption over the next few days.
The Met Office yellow weather warning previously covered south-east Scotland and north-east England but has been widened to cover central Scotland, Tayside and Fife.
The alert is in force until 8am on Wednesday.
The Met Office said there will widely be 10-20mm of rain in the affected areas, and up to 40mm mainly on east-facing hills.
The ground in many of the affected areas is already saturated by rain over recent weeks, and the Met Office said further rainfall across Tuesday and into Wednesday could lead to localised flooding.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has issued flood alerts for Central Scotland, Dundee and Angus, Edinburgh and Lothians, Fife, the Scottish Borders and Tayside.
Rain is expected to ease throughout Wednesday, with some showers in the morning but will become drier through the afternoon.
The Met Office said there will be further rain spreading south-east over Wednesday night and throughout Thursday morning, with a few showers expected in the west and north-west of Scotland.
The Met Office says affected areas could see disruption to bus and train services, while power cuts and flooding of homes and businesses are also likely.
According to the Environment Agency, 42 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, are active in England, along with 157 lesser flood alerts.
There was previously a flood warning issued across the whole of Northern Ireland, though this has since been lifted.
Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said: “After a pretty nice start to the week, things will turn much more unsettled across the UK for Tuesday.
“Rain pushes up into north-eastern areas throughout (Tuesday) morning and then it will linger across north-eastern parts of England as well as south-eastern Scotland. There’s been a lot of rainfall here recently, so the ground is well saturated.
“Behind that, plenty of showers are developing. These will push into parts of the Midlands by the middle part of the day and, without much of a breeze, they could be quite long-lasting showers. They bring a risk of hail and thunder as well.
“So a bit of an unsettled, unpleasant day for many, particularly if you get caught in those showers.”
