Met Office extends warning as Storm Darragh batters Scots with rain, snow & wind

THE Met Office has extended one of its yellow weather warnings as Storm Darragh batters the country with rain, wind and snow.

Scots have been warned to avoid travelling today, with a number of rail services and flights disrupted due to the storm.

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The train line between Ayr and Girvan was shut after a large tree fell onto the tracks, while snow gates were closed on roads in the north-east of Scotland.

An amber wind warning is in place for parts of Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire until 9pm on Saturday.

Heavy wind and rain are also expected along the east coast of Scotland into Saturday night.

But the Met Office has extended one of its alerts this morning.

The yellow warning for rain covers a number of areas including parts of the Scottish Borders.

The alert was previously meant to end at 12pm today, but has been extended until 9am tomorrow morning.

This means that spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer.

Bus and train services will probably be affected with journey times taking longer.

And flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely.

The Met Office added: “Storm Darragh will bring further outbreaks of rain on Saturday, which are likely to become heavier and more persistent through the day, then last overnight and in to the start of Sunday, before clearing away to the south later.

“20-25mm is likely to fall quite widely, with 40 to 60mm falling over high ground of the Cheviots, Pennines and North York Moors.”

The storm has also affected other parts of the UK and Ireland, with a rare red warning for wind in Wales and south-west England in place.

The Energy Networks Association reported 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales were without power.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said earlier: “The Met Office is warning us to expect another period of disruption this weekend, with Storm Darragh set to bring strong winds to the south of Scotland.

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“The south-west in particular will likely see the worst of the conditions.

“High winds will bring challenges for the trunk road network, so travellers should make sure they plan their journey in advance, drive to the conditions and follow Police Scotland travel advice.

“The Traffic Scotland website offers people the latest information on the trunk roads and the Traffic Scotland X page is updated regularly.

“You can also find details of wind-based closures for the bridges on the trunk road network, allowing you to check if your planned route is available.”