Met Office upgrades thunderstorm warning in the Highlands to amber; new alert covers Inverness, the Black Isle, Cairngorms, Easter Ross and south-east Sutherland; a wider yellow warning also remains in force for much of the Highlands
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A THUNDERSTORM warning for the Highlands has been upgraded to amber level by the Met Office, amid worries over potential flash flooding.
The new amber alert, which came into force at midday and runs to 10pm, covers an area extending from south-east Sutherland, through Easter Ross and the Black Isle, south through Inverness and the Cairngorms and on into the central belt.
An existing yellow alert, which covers even more of the Highlands, also remains in force until midnight.
Issuing its new amber alert, the Met Office warned that up to 80mm could fall in some localised areas in the space of just a few hours.
They said: “Heavy thundery showers will bring some travel disruption and some localised flooding.
“Showers will break out widely across much of Scotland from late morning, turning heavy in the afternoon.
“While many places will miss the heaviest showers, where they do occur 20-40 mm could fall in an hour with locally 60-80 mm in a few hours.
“Showers will start to merge to longer spells of rain in the evening, but easing in intensity.”
Those areas of the Highlands covered by only the yellow warning could also see rainfall totals of up to 60mm in the space of three to six hours.
Amber and yellow weather warnings for rain are also in place in parts of the Highlands on Wednesday into Thursday.
Responding to the four weather warning, Highland Council urged residents to be prepared for possible travel disruption, power cuts and localised flooding.
They added that they had done some pre-emptive clearing of gullies in known flood risk areas in a bid to mitigate any potential issues.
A spokesman said: “Gullies in areas prone to flooding have been serviced and inspected and over the last few days council staff have been undertaking additional gully cleaning ahead of the weather warning, including in Muir of Ord and Dingwall where a gully emptying machine will be stationed.
“Staff are closely monitoring the situation. They are prepared to respond to any impact with the deployment of sandbags and floodgates to vulnerable properties, but are advising all householders and businesses to remain vigilant and to be aware of the warning, their own property responsibilities, and to take any actions they can to prepare.”
The council’s executive chief officer for environment and infrastructure, Malcolm MacLeod, added: “Heavy showers are expected to develop across the whole Highlands on Tuesday afternoon and evening and these downpours are likely to cause disruption due to flooding from surface water and small watercourses. The Met Office warning also highlights a further spell of very wet weather is likely on Wednesday which may lead to flooding from larger rivers.
“Our teams are closely monitoring the forecast and all warnings issued and are as prepared as they can be. If there are any impacts, staff are ready to help those most at risk, including vulnerable members of the community but we need householders and businesses to remain alert and ready to take actions which can help protect themselves and their property.”
Advice and further information on flooding is available through the SEPA Floodline on 0345 9881188. www.sepa.org.uk.
People can contact the council to report incidents of flooding by calling 01349 886601 or using the on-line reporting tool at www.highland.gov.uk.
Links to further sources of advice and information are provided below
• Useful numbers in the event of an emergency
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Current flood warnings across the Highlands
• Scottish Flood Forum – Flooding fact sheets
• Emergency Kit and Household Plan – Leaflet
• Managing Flood Risks in the Highlands
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