Yellow weather warning for parts of Scotland as heavy rain forecast

Motorists have been warned they may face difficult driving conditions in parts of Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands overnight, where a yellow severe weather warning is in place following a forecast of heavy rain.

Meteorologists have warned of possible flooding and disruption to travel in an area covering Stonehaven, Aberdeen, Fraserborough, Banff, Elgin, Alness, Inverness and Aviemore until 10am on Saturday.

Up to 50mm of rain is predicted to fall during a 12-hour period overnight, causing surface water and spray on roads, before the rain eases and becomes showery.

Frank Saunders, a chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “An area of heavy and quite persistent rain will develop across parts of north and north-east Scotland later on Friday evening. This will continue overnight before turning showery on Saturday morning.

“It is possible that 20-30mm of rain is likely to fall quite widely in around 12 hours, but there could even be up to 50mm in a few areas.”

Elsewhere, overnight a band of heavy rain is expected to move northwards from south-west England to central and eastern England, resulting in wet roads and spray, with further heavy showers also expected in parts of northern and western Wales.

Once the overnight rain clears, the forecast was for a generally unsettled and cool weekend, with almost all areas expected to see showers – some potentially heavy and thundery – at some point.

Temperatures were generally expected to be below average for the time of year, but may reach 19C in some areas during sunny spells.