Spring gears up for a soggy start
THE arrival of March is supposed to herald the coming of spring.
But forecasters have warned this weekend will be a washout, with localised flooding and snow.
On the first weekend of March, the first month of the meteorological spring, yellow ‘be aware’ weather warnings are in place for rain north of the Border.
Some areas could see as much of 40mm (1.5in) of rain today, the Met Office said, as an active frontal system pushes up from the south.
Some could also experience localised flooding, and snow is possible on higher ground.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for eastern Scotland, which means that severe weather is possible and could result in travel delays and disruption.
The warning will remain in place until 11pm today, when the front will have moved to the North.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: ‘There is a yellow warning in place, warning of rainfall in eastern Scotland.
‘We are warning there will be reasonable amounts of rainfall, including 20-30 mm (0.75in-1in) of rain quite widely across the warning area, from north of Edinburgh to Fraserburgh.
‘Some areas could see 40mm of rain, and during that warning period there is a chance that people above 300-400m (984-1,312ft) could see a short period of snow before it turns back to rain.
‘There will be reasonably heavy rain across the whole of Scotland Everyone over the next 24 to 48 hours will see some rain. Shetland will also see very heavy rain, particularly on Sunday.’
Forecasters say a band of rain band will move northwards of the Central Belt today.
By the early hours of tomorrow it will be limited to showers along the West coast.
The spokesman added: ‘On most of Sunday, and particularly in the North, it could be quite clear. Winds will be reasonably strong. People could see some snow on the hills, but we are talking quite high altitudes with that.
‘It won’t be a bad day and temperatures will be quite reasonable. We’re looking at values of about 6-8C (43-46F) for today and 6-9C(43-48F) on Sunday.’