Residents in the north and north-east have been warned of potential flooding and power outages as heavy rain is expected to hit the regions today.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain, which currently covers the whole of the north-east and parts of the Highlands – including Inverness and the Orkney islands.
Heavy rains are expected to sweep across the regions amid concerns about an impact on homes and business with localised flooding and interruption to power supply.
The warning came in force yesterday at 8pm, following the forecasters’ previous warning for thunderstorms, and will last until 8pm today.
Motorists have also been alerted to hazardous travel conditions with spray and flooding on roads making journey times longer.
Weekend rain puts an end to autumn heatwave
The recent thunderstorm and rain warnings issued by the Met Office come after a week of record September temperatures across Scotland.
However, with temperatures across the north and north-east expected to drop to 9C over the weekend, the autumn heatwave seems to be coming to an abrupt end.
Residents in the Highlands and Islands will not have the chance for a day out in the sun today as showers merging into longer heavy rain are forecasted to hit the far north.
What has #Friday morning's weather got in store❓
A cloudy and grey start for many of us but brightening up with showers developing#Rain ⚠️slowly clearing the north east of Scotland
Check out the full detail below 👇 pic.twitter.com/EH9GGkHPg4
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 9, 2021
Building into afternoon over the rest of the area, persistent downpours will also bring the small risk of thunderstorms with temperatures expected to go no higher than 21C.
In the north-east, it will be generally cloudy with showers that occasionally merge to longer periods of rain, perhaps heavy at times.
However, it expected to be drier and brighter in the south of Aberdeenshire, towards Deeside, with light winds and a maximum temperature of 20C.