First day of spring today...but nobody told the weather!

IT is the first official day of spring – but Scots hoping for the arrival of sunshine and the debut of some seasonal blooms will have to hold on a little longer.

Wild weather from Storm Jorge will continue to lash the country today, tearing across the Highlands and whipping up winds of up to 70mph – firmly scuppering any chance of a day working on the flower beds.

Yellow ‘be aware’ alerts have been issued, with the Met Office predicting that winds of 50 to 60mph can be expected quite widely, along with gusts of 70mph around coasts and hills.

Heavy rain will be an additional hazard and will fall as snow on higher ground.

By tomorrow night the mercury could drop as low as -8C (17F) in some areas.

Last night, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) put out five flood alerts for Ayrshire and Arran, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Central and WestCentral Scotland.

Jorge is the third storm to batter the country within only a few weeks, following Ciara and Dennis. The Met Office’s Greg Dewhurst said it was ‘unusual’ to have three named storms within a month.

He said: ‘It’s all down to a very powerful jet stream dominating our weather for the entire month of February. Early statistics suggest Scotland has just endured its third-wettest February on record.

‘Yet, strangely, parts of Aberdeenshire have had belowaverage rainfall and more sunshine hours than usual for the time of year.’

England has had more than three times the amount of its average February rainfall, according to the Environment Agency. Some areas have had a month’s rainfall in 24 hours.

The UK average for this February was 202.1mm (7.95in), beating the previous record in February 1990 of 193.4mm. Records began in 1862.

Mr Dewhurst urged motorists to be careful, adding: ‘Drivers should be aware that we expect disruption over the coming days, especially on higher routes like the A9 and M74. It will also feel extremely cold at night, where skies are clear.’

In some parts of the country Storm Jorge has led to police declaring a ‘critical incident’.

In Ireland, Galway and County Clare have declared red warnings for wind and are advising people to stay indoors.

More than 300 flood alerts were in place across England and Wales yesterday, while wind warnings remain in place across northern England and north Wales. Rain-soaked areas in East Yorkshire have been lashed by torrential downpours for several days, causing the River Aire to burst its banks.

More than four tonnes of sandbags have been deployed to the area as the Environment Agency issued eight of its 80 flood warnings on the river.

It added that 1,000 staff members a day have worked on maintaining four miles of flood defences and pumps, clearing debris and repairing barriers.

Jorge also meant misery in the West Country, with landslides, flooded roads and power cuts.