Deluged again as Imogen gets set to storm in
SCOTLAND was hit by high winds and torrential downpours yesterday as the country braced itself for Storm Imogen.
But despite winds of up to 65mph and heavy rain, forecasters said Scots will escape the worst of the weather.
Although Imogen is likely to bring misery and flooding to the South of England, those north of the Border are to be spared.
However, the Met Office warned of plummeting temperatures and issued ice warnings for much of the country, with the North f acing l i ght snow showers towards the end of the week.
Many feared the worst yesterday as wind and rain continued throughout the day but last night a Met Office forecaster said: ‘Sunday was very wet and windy for most, with showers or longer spells of rain affecting much of southern and western Scotland.
‘The rain was accompanied by gale force west to south-westerly winds during daylight with gusts of 45- 55mph quite widely, perhaps 60-65mph over exposed coasts and bridges.
‘This is not Storm Imogen yet, the storm is still out at sea. By the time it reaches Scotland it will have calmed down significantly and the weather will actually be better during the storm than it was on Sunday.’
Severe weather warnings were issued for much of South-West and East England, London and Wales yesterday, with winds of up to 80mph expected today.
A number of ferry services including Portsmouth to Guernsey and Newhaven to Dieppe services were cancelled, and motorists were warned about the increased risk of lorries, caravans and motorbikes being blown over by gusts of wind.
But while parts of Scotland continued the clean-up from previous storms, forecasters said they should not be too worried about Imogen.
Thousands of Scots were forced from their homes in December and last month as Storms Desmond, Eva, Frank and Gertrude wreaked havoc. Homes and businesses were flooded, while strong winds caused damage to properties across the country.
It has been estimated the cost of the damage could reach £750million, with many people now worried about insuring their homes against further storm and flood damage.
The Borders and areas of Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and Ayrshire were worst hit.
But the Met Office forecaster said: ‘Although Scotland is in the centre of Storm Imogen, it will be calmer than recent weather.
‘The bottom edges of the storm are set to move over the South of England and will bring a lot of heavy rain and strong winds, but this will miss Scotland.
‘Temperatures are going to drop this week, and we do have warnings out for ice on the road for Monday and Tuesday, but it is likely we could see more.’
‘Very wet and windy for most’