Police have warned a Scots river is likely to burst its banks as floods and possible snow are set to cause huge disruption across the country.
A ' bomb cyclone ' coming from America has brought extreme cold and snowfall in the US. Meanwhile a rain warning has been issued for Friday which covers much of the central belt.
Heavy rain is set to start from 3am as up to three inches are predicted to drench the country - including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling - and could turn into snow.
On Thursday evening, cops warned the River Nith in Whitesands, Dumfries, could burst its banks with an adjacent car park likely to be flooded at least.
Nithsdale Police said on Twitter : "A flood warning for the River Nith and Whitesands has been issued. Due to a period of heavy rainfall through the night the levels of the River Nith are predicted to rise in the early hours of Friday morning and peak later in the day. Flooding of Whitesands car park is expected.”
Police warned that due to expected flooding in the Whitesands, Dockhead, and Dock Park areas overnight, people should remove their vehicles from those areas by 9pm on Thursday.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said the gloomy weather north of the Border is a result of a jet stream brought on by fierce snow storms recently seen in America, particularly in upstate New York.
“The UK weather is going to remain unsettled with further spells of wet and windy weather due to the strengthening of the jet stream because of the weather in the US,” he said.
However, Mr Partridge said the impact will be "nowhere near" as serious as in America, as intense snowstorms have plagued parts of New York resulting in trapped residents, buried cars and even fatalities.
UK forecasters have warned of flooding resulting in possible road closures, which may cause disruption in the lead up to New Year's weekend.
He said: “The effect it’s having on the UK is nowhere near as dramatic because that system has brought up a lot of cold air further south, across the US.”
He added the knock-on effect for the UK is spells of wet and windy weather over the next seven to 10 days.
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