Rare red warning issued as life threatening storm expected

Storm Babet will batter Scotland with life-threatening weather with the Met Office issuing a rare red warning for rain.

Full Story: https://news.stv.tv/scotland/life-threatening-rain-as-met-office-escalates-storm-babet-to-rare-red-warning

A second amber warning for wind has also been issued covering the north east coast.

The storm is set to bring a month’s worth of rain within 48 hours across parts of the country. Locally, areas of Angus will see two month’s of rain in the same time.

A red warning is issued only when dangerous weather is forecast and it is “very likely there will be a risk to life”.

Police Scotland has asked drivers to consider if their journeys are really necessary.

‘Unprecedented escalation’ forecasts ‘extraordinary’ rainfall

“The Met Office have taken the unprecedented decision to escalate several weather warnings for Thursday, and in particular issue a red weather warning for rain – the first of its kind for Scotland since 2015,” said STV weather presenter Philip Petrie.

“Much of the north and east of the country will see gusts of 40-50mph, with the most severe gales occurring within the amber wind zone, around the coasts of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Dundee.

“Thursday could see gusts in excess of 70mph at times around coasts, causing huge impacts exacerbated by prolonged heavy rainfall and the fact it is an unusual wind direction for winds of this strength.

“The red warning for rain covers parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire, and this is where we will see extraordinary amounts of rainfall in the space of 48 hours. Some areas could see 200-250mm of rainfall within the timeframe of the storm.

“Of course anyone within the red warning area should not travel unless completely necessary, and also prepare for the likelihood of flooding, disruption and danger to life from debris caused by the accompanying strong winds.”