Locals warned of heavy rain, flooding and thunderstorms across whole of Tayside and Fife

A string of alerts and warnings are in place as Tayside and Fife prepares for the possibility of rain, thunderstorms and flooding throughout the next two days.

Locals have been warned of thunder and torrential downpours from Friday into Saturday as the weather takes a turn for the worse.

It comes after Scotland experienced its hottest day of the year so far on Thursday, with the mercury soaring to a high of 30.8C at Prestwick. Heathrow recorded the highest temperature in the UK at 33.4C.

On Friday morning the Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain, effective across the whole of Tayside and Fife from 9am on Saturday until midnight.

The forecaster said “heavy” showers could batter the area.

⚠️ Yellow Warning issued for #Rain ⚠️

Heavy showers and rain may lead to localised flooding 🌧️

Valid Saturday 0900 until Saturday 2200

Latest info https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs

Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/8zvuKlR8ej

— Met Office (@metoffice) June 26, 2020

The Met Office warning reads: “Although intense thunderstorms become less likely for most areas across Scotland and Northern Ireland, heavy showers and more prolonged rain will continue at times, still with the possibility of thunder.

“These may bring 10-20 mm per hour for some places during Saturday, with perhaps 30-40 mm over a few hours. The ground is getting wetter now, so this may cause a few issues.”

A Met Office yellow thunderstorm warning is also in place for the whole of Tayside and Fife, effective from noon on Friday until 6am on Saturday.

The forecaster said thunder, lightning and torrential downpours could be seen in some areas – with up to 2in of rainfall possible in a short space of time in some places.

It comes after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said heavy rainfall could lead to local watercourses overflowing and dangerous driving conditions from Friday into Saturday.

The organisation has issued flood alerts for Angus, Dundee, Fife, and Perth and Kinross warning of “heavy thundery showers” overnight.

The Sepa alerts state: “If your area is affected by a heavy shower, this may lead to localised flooding from surface water and small watercourses.

“The greatest risk is if these occur over built-up areas and the transport network. Possible impacts may include flooding of low-lying land, roads, properties and disruption to travel.

“Thunderstorms are intense, localised, hard to predict and their flooding impacts vary.

“Due to the very localised nature of flooding from thunderstorms, your specific area may not be impacted.”