THREE yellow weather warnings for rain in Scotland have been issued for the upcoming week, with up to 150mm of rainfall expected within a 24-hour period in the worst affected areas.
The Met Office warnings cover south-west Scotland and the Lothian borders on Monday afternoon and evening, and north-east Scotland – including the Highlands, Strathclyde and Central, Tayside and Fife – for most of Wednesday and Thursday.
The forecaster said the rain on Wednesday and Thursday could be accompanied by strong winds of up to 60mph as the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto hit the UK.
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️ Heavy rain across parts of southwest Scotland Valid 1400 to 2359 Monday Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/mYnxAkIu2z
— Met Office (@metoffice) August 18, 2024
People have been warned to expect delays to public transport, spray and flooding on roads, as well as potential power cuts and flooding in homes and businesses.
There was a small chance the spring tide will generate large waves which could result in injuries and danger to life in coastal areas on Wednesday and Thursday, the Met Office added.
Ernesto - a category 1 hurricane - ripped through the North Atlantic this week, with maximum winds of 85mph leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico and Bermuda without power.
Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: “Ernesto, at the moment, is still out on the other side of the Atlantic as a tropical storm.
“As we go through the next couple of days, it kind of weakens as it moves into cooler waters and gets absorbed into a more typical area of low pressure, which we kind of get quite often.
"Because the tropical systems just have so much warmth and a lot of moisture in them, remnants of the warmth and remnants of the moisture will be still there in that weather system on Wednesday and Thursday, so it will enhance the rainfall."
Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season.
