Storms give Scotland a dank holiday weekend

A TRANSATLANTIC storm blew in to spoil Scotland’s bank holiday weekend yesterday.

The Met Office confirmed that a gust of 121mph was recorded on the summit of Cairngorm late on Friday.

Yesterday, the severe gales continued to lash the country, causing restrictions, including the closure of the Skye Bridge in both directions.

One mountain rainfall measuring station recorded

4in in 24 hours.

Flood warnings were issued for Argyll, Easter Ross, Findhorn, Nairn, Skye and Lochaber, and Wester Ross.

Cal Mac was forced to cancel sailings on the West Coast, while rail services in the south side of Glasgow were halted after a tree was blown onto overhead lines at Pollokshields East station.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur brought the deluge but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency still had to escalate water shortage warnings in parts of Scotland to ‘moderate scarcity’ – the second-highest alert they can issue.

Nicky Maxey of the Met Office said there has been only 60 per cent of normal rainfall this spring across the whole of Scotland.

But the East, which has seen just 45 per cent of average rainfall, is shaping up to record its driest spring since records began in 1862.