Urgent yellow weather warning issued for rain on New Year’s Eve

Raucous Hogmanay celebrations could turn into a washout this New Year as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain for almost the whole of Scotland.

New maps from forecasters WXCharts, show a huge deluge a rainfall stretching from the Scottish Borders to the Shetland Islands, with only the far east of the country escaping a downpour.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain from 12am on December 30 until the strike of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and the Western Isles, south west Scotland, Lothian Borders and Strathclyde are all covered by the alert.

The Met Office said “heavy rain and snow may bring significant disruption in the build up to New Year” and up 140mm of rain could fall in some places. The agency said the weather is likely to cause difficult driving conditions and some road closures, flooding, power cuts, disruption to public transport, and that some communities could be cut off.

The Met Office also warned “fast flowing or deep floodwater” is possible, causing a danger to life.

The Scottish First Minister has urged people to “pay close attention” to weather warnings in place throughout the Hogmanay period. SNP leader John Swinney said the Scottish Government is “monitoring the weather warnings very closely”.

He added: “We have yellow weather warnings for rain, predominantly, over most of Scotland, for Monday and Tuesday, which may well have an effect on some of the outdoor events that are taking their course.

“We’re obviously at the vagaries of the weather this time of year, it’s an inevitable feature we’ve got to wrestle with.

“But the resilience planning is undertaken across Government on a daily basis, and we are looking ahead to the events around about Hogmanay to make sure that everybody can enjoy the festivities but be safe in the process.

“I would urge members of the public to follow all of the warnings because they will develop over the course of the next few days and it’s vital that all of us pay close attention to those warnings.”

Scotland’s biggest New Year celebrations always take place in Edinburgh, and more than 100,000 revellers are expected to descend on the city for four days of events.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay told the BBC: “We continue to work closely with Met Office and other agencies to monitor forecasts in the days leading up to Hogmanay.

“As always in Scotland, the forecasts are changing regularly and we are still a few days away, so we advise customers to stay up-to-date via our social channels and Met Office.

“For all Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events, we recommend audiences dress appropriately for winter events in Scotland – prepare for all weather, wrap up warm and double-check with your travel operator for the latest updates.”

Today:

It will be a cloudy and murky day for much of England and Wales, with patchy fog and drizzle. Rain across Scotland will slowly clear southeastwards through the day, with sunny spells and blustery showers following behind.

Tonight:

Light rain continues to move southeast with cloudy, murky conditions to the south of it. Clearer, cooler and breezier conditions following, but rain arriving across northwest Scotland.

Sunday:

Rain, heavy at times, slowly edges south across Scotland. Elsewhere, breezier than of late and brighter with some sunny spells. A little light rain possible over western hills.

Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:

Windy on Monday with outbreaks of rain. Remaining unsettled over New Year’s Eve and into the new year with rain and hill snow in the north. Turning colder for most.