The north-east is braced for two days of severe weather as rain and snow warnings batter the region over the Hogmanay period.
Coming into effect at midnight on Monday, December 30, the yellow Met Office alert will continue through the entirety of the day, remaining in place for Hogmanay on Tuesday, December 31, where it will finally end at 11.59pm.
Forecasters have warned that “heavy rain and snow may bring significant disruption in the build up to New Year”. Most areas are expected to see 50-70mm of rain across the two days – though up to 140mm could fall in some places.
The whole of mainland Scotland has been engulfed by the weather warnings while parts of the north of England will also be impacted by alerts on New Year’s Day and January 2.
The current forecast for Aberdeen has predicted sleet on January 1 in the city which will change to light snow showers by the afternoon. Similar conditions are also forecast for January 2.
The Met Office warning reads: “Heavy rain will become persistent and widespread during Monday and Tuesday. Widespread totals of 50 to 70mm are possible over the two days with some places perhaps seeing 100 to 140mm of rain, these higher totals most likely over western Scotland.
“North and east of (and including) Perthshire, precipitation is likely to fall as snow, especially over high ground, with 10-20cm accumulating above 150-200 meters, with several cm accumulating at lower elevations away from windward coasts. As milder air pushes in, snow will turn back to rain, and any rapid snow melt will contribute to flooding in places.
“Strong winds may exacerbate impacts, particularly across the areas of Scotland affected by snow. Blizzard conditions are possible, especially over high ground and across much of Sutherland and Caithness. Powerline icing is possible where blizzard conditions occur.”
Andy Page, chief forecaster at the Met Office, urged people to continue to check the forecast over the next coming days.
He said: “There is a very complicated weather forecast for the UK with snow, strong winds and heavy rain all feature for parts of the UK. Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week. With such a varied and complex weather situation there is potential for the pattern of warnings to shift and possibly escalate in some areas.
“With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
In an earlier interview with the PA news agency, First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish Government is “monitoring the weather warnings very closely”.
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He added: “We have yellow weather warnings for rain, predominantly, over most of Scotland, for Monday and Tuesday, which may well have an effect on some of the outdoor events that are taking their course.
“We’re obviously at the vagaries of the weather this time of year, it’s an inevitable feature we’ve got to wrestle with.
“But the resilience planning is undertaken across Government on a daily basis, and we are looking ahead to the events around about Hogmanay to make sure that everybody can enjoy the festivities but be safe in the process.
“I would urge members of the public to follow all of the warnings because they will develop over the course of the next few days and it’s vital that all of us pay close attention to those warnings.”