Transport

Fergus Ewing hits back after coming under fire at the SNP conference which issued yet another dualling promise.

People are being urged not to travel within or to areas covered by a red 'danger to life' warning, and have advised caution in amber and yellow areas.

A red warning for exceptional rain posing a 'danger to life' has been extended over part of the A9 trunk road linking the Highlands and central belt.

The council's own bus services will all be suspended from midday on Thursday. Stagecoach was still running its routes but advising against travel.

Lifeboat crews at the RNLI have urged people to stay away from the coast after Storm Babet hit the Highlands.

CalMac has cancelled all of its planned passenger ferry sailings on Thursday in response to Storm Babet.

The A82 at Fort Augustus is currently restricted in both directions.

A section of Culloden Road in Inverness will be temporarily reopened to traffic.

Train services in the Highlands will be cancelled tomorrow and Friday as severe weather is expected to affect several north lines.

The Highlands were left off tables highlighting the areas facing an amber weather warning ona new Traffic Scotland webpage.

The Met Office has also upgraded rain warnings for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire to amber; after issuing a revised red alert in the Grampians.

The council said its roads department is preparing itself to respond to flooding incidents when the storm hits.

She says there was 'more interest in duelling between Transport Scotland and the government than dualling the road.'

Criticism still rankles as speakers take aim at critics: ‘the Tories get so chuffed when they can use SNP quotes to throw at us.’

A separate yellow warning for rain elsewhere in northern Scotland has also been extended and now covers a large swathe of the Highlands and Moray.

Brace for flooding when Storm Babet hits the Highlands later this week, residents have been warned.

Two rain warnings have been issued for parts of the Highlands, with a third alert – for gales – covering virtually all of northern Scotland.

The yellow warning runs from Thursday morning until the end of Saturday and covers parts of the A9.

Tensioning issues 'more difficult' than anticipated

Restrictions are expected to be in place during the evening.