Mark Franklin, Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA’s) Flood Duty Manager, said: “Heavy rain and strong winds are expected across much of Scotland on Saturday and Sunday.
“Flooding impacts from rivers and surface water are possible across much of the south west and west of Scotland, including Argyll, much of central Scotland and extending across Tayside into Angus and Aberdeenshire.
“Impacts may include flooding of land and roads, disruption to travel and difficult driving conditions.
“There may also be disruption from spray and waves overtopping today along the Solway coast, west coast, the Caithness, Sutherland and Moray coastlines and around the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
“Flood alerts have been issued and people living, working and travelling in affected areas are advised to take extra care and ensure they have signed up to Floodline. You can also stay up to date with flood alerts and warnings at floodlinescotland.org.uk/.
“The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for much of the south and west of the country for Saturday.
“SEPA is working 24/7 to monitor rainfall and river levels, and is in close contact with the Met Office and other partners to review the forecasts, which are combined with local expertise from all regions of Scotland to understand and present the flooding risk. The most up-to-date information is always available on our website.”
Staying informed
- All SEPA’s Alerts and Warnings are available on our website at floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/
- Floodline is always the most up-to-date information – with any new flood updates available as soon as they are issued.
- You can also sign up to receive these messages to your phone, for free. You can register online at floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup/
- Advice on what you can do to prepare for flooding can be found at org.uk/
Be prepared and stay safe
- Check Floodline – visit sepa.org.uk/floodupdates
- Don’t walk through flood water – 15cm of fast flowing water could be enough to knock you off your feet and hazards can be hidden under the water.
- On the road or on public transport we can expect difficult conditions.
- Drive with care, and do not travel through deep fast flowing water. It only takes 30sm of fast flowing water to move an average family sized car.
- If you are walking beside rivers be extra careful of wet footpaths and possibly small watercourses in spate.
What’s the difference between a Flood Alert and a Flood Warning?
We use forecast weather information provided by the Met Office combined with our own observation of rainfall and river levels and advanced hydrological modelling to provide advance warning of flooding.
- Regional Flood Alerts are early advice that flooding is possible across a wider geographical area. The purpose of the Alerts is to make people aware of the risk of flooding and be prepared. We normally issue them 12 to 24 hours in advance of the possibility of flooding.
- Flood Warnings are more locally specific and are issued for areas where we have gauges on rivers to measure the exact river height. They are issued at shorter notice when we are more certain that a specific area will be affected.
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