Heavy rain to batter Scotland for 21 hours as Storm Austen hits UK

Heavy rain will batter much of Scotland for 21 hours as Storm Austen gets set to sweep the UK.

The first named storm of the season is forecast to bring gusts of 50-60mph to southern areas of the UK at the end of the week, with 70mph possible along exposed coasts.

STV News meteorologist Sean Batty said earlier this week that while the worst of the winds from Storm Austen won’t hit Scotland, heavy rain was forecast.

The Met Office have now issued a yellow weather warning for much of the country from 6am on Friday until 3am on Saturday.

Forecasters are warning of the small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.

Disruption is also expected on rail, road, ferry and air transport services, and some communities could become cut off by flooded roads.

An area of heavy rain will develop across southern and central areas of Scotland before dawn Friday in association with Storm Austen, extending over northeast Scotland during the morning and early afternoon.

The Met Office says accumulations of 20-40 mm are expected widely within the warning area through this period, with 60-80 mm possible in some locations.

The rain is expected to turn lighter and clear from the west through the evening and overnight into Saturday.

Areas affected by yellow weather warning on Friday

All but six of Scotland’s local council areas will be hit by the heavy rain.

• Angus
• Clackmannanshire
• Dundee
• Falkirk
• Fife
• Perth and Kinross

• Stirling
• Aberdeen
• Aberdeenshire
• Moray
• East Ayrshire
• East Dunbartonshire
• East Renfrewshire
• Glasgow
• North Ayrshire
• North Lanarkshire
• Renfrewshire
• South Ayrshire
• South Lanarkshire
• West Dunbartonshire
• Dumfries and Galloway
• East Lothian
• Edinburgh
• Midlothian Council
• Scottish Borders
• West Lothian

What does Storm Austen mean for Scotland?

Another mixed week lies ahead, but with the addition of the first storm of the season – which will track to the south of the UK. This means the winds will be worst for Ireland, Wales, England and France.

For us in Scotland, it will bring heavy rain, with some models suggesting up to 100mm of rain falling in some spots, which could lead to flood issues.

At the moment, the highest rainfall totals are being shown across southern, central and eastern Scotland.

While Scotland misses the worst of the winds from Austen, a separate system will bring strong winds here through the weekend – especially Saturday afternoon through to Sunday morning. Some models are suggesting winds reaching 70-80mph in the Hebrides.

So while Storm Austen won’t bring us the strongest winds, we do get our own strong winds during the weekend.