Yellow weather warning in place for rain and snow

A yellow weather warning for rain and snow has been issued for much of Scotland on Saturday.

The warning is in place from 8am until midnight on Saturday with up to 25mm of rain forecast at lower levels, according to the Met Office.

A period of sleet and snow, turning to rain, may lead to some flooding and travel disruption.

Bus and train services may be affected, with journey times taking longer, with some spray and flooding on roads.

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Some interruption to power services is also likely.

This week, Storm Gerrit caused travel disruption across the UK.

Hundreds of homes in Scotland remain without power as the post-storm clean-up continues, but electricity bosses are “very confident” the remaining properties will be reconnected on Friday.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said that as of 4pm on Friday, electricity supplies had been successfully restored to more than 47,000 properties, with 250 still off supply.

Andy Smith, operations director at SSEN Distribution, said on Friday: “Our teams have continued to make excellent progress today in restoring customers impacted by Storm Gerrit, in the face of continued challenging conditions.

“We recognise this has been a difficult couple of days for the customers still affected and I’m grateful to them for their continued patience and support as our teams work extremely hard to restore power.

“Up to now we’ve targeted our restoration plan on repairing the faults that will reconnect the greatest number of customers and those who have been without power the longest.

“Today, we face a number of complex and very localised faults, and whilst we’re still encountering some access challenges, we’re pressing on to reconnect those final customers affected.

“I’d therefore like to reassure our customers that all our teams have been directed to these last few remaining areas of damage for this final push.

“Our established welfare policy is active, offering reimbursement for meals and accommodation, for those who’re eligible, and we’re speaking to our most vulnerable customers to offer them tailored support.

“Anyone who may need additional help or advice should contact our dedicated teams on the power cut helpline, 105.”

Travellers could face disruption across the rail network on Saturday, with operators urging passengers to check their journeys before setting off.

Andy Page, Met Office chief forecaster, said: “Parts of the higher ground of Scotland may see temporary snow accumulations of 5-10cm (1-2in), while up to 25mm (just under 1in) of rain is expected in Wales, Northern Ireland and lower levels in Scotland.

“Across Wales and southern England, wind gusts of 45-50mph are likely to be quite widespread, while gusts of 65-75mph are possible in the most exposed coastal areas.”