Scotland braced for further weather misery tomorrow as Met Office issues major update on Hurricane Ernesto impact

SCOTS are being urged to brace for further weather misery tomorrow as the remains of Hurricane Ernesto are set to sweep across the country.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and wind across west and southern parts of Scotland.

4

4

4

4

Up to 150mm of rain and strong winds of up to 60mph could affect some areas over a 24-hour period.

Flooding, dangerous coastal conditions and power cuts could be possible, the Met Office said.

The forecaster has issued a yellow warning for rain for the western half of Scotland, covering the Highlands, southwest Scotland and Strathclyde, from 11am this morning to 8am on Thursday.

A separate alert for wind has also been issued across parts of Strathclyde, southwest and central Scotland.

This is in place from 1am tomorrow morning until 9am.

Hurricane Ernesto pummelled Puerto Rico last weekend and cut off power to 71 per cent of Bermuda’s residents on Sunday.

Tracking maps show Ernesto arcing across the Atlantic over the last few days, dropping in intensity to a tropical storm as it makes its way towards Scotland.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “Through today and into tomorrow, we have got some potentially impactful weather for parts of the west of Scotland and north-west England, with some winds and rain being the main hazards that we’re keeping an eye on.”

A band of rain moving in from the west will become slow-moving in parts of western Scotland on Wednesday, with 75mm-100mm forecast for some areas and possibly up to 150mm over higher ground, the forecaster said.

Strong winds of around 50mph, “associated with” the rain, will blow fairly widely in the areas covered by the warning, while gusts of around 60mph could occur in exposed locations.

Mr Dixon said: “There is a chance of some disruption, particularly to travel, and particularly dangerous conditions in some coastal areas as well, with the chance of beach material being thrown on to seafronts, and some coastal roads having some trickier conditions.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued 21 flood alerts, meaning flooding is expected, across the Orkney and the Western Isles, and coastal areas in Moray and Dumfries and Galloway.

Traffic will be diverted from the A83 Rest And Be Thankful road to the Old Military Road in Argyll and Bute from 7pm on Wednesday to ensure the safety of road users, with landslides previously affecting the area, road maintenance firm BEAR Scotland said.

More than a dozen ferry services on the Scottish west coast have been cancelled or disrupted due to the conditions.