Stay at home advice for regions with a red weather alert during Storm Babet

 Stay at home advice for regions with a red weather alert during Storm Babet

A red weather warning has been issued for parts of Scotland, advising residents to remain inside and avoid travel.

On Thursday and Friday, Storm Babet is predicted to deliver "unprecedented" rainfall, serious floods, and a danger to human life.

The regions closest to Angus and Aberdeenshire are probably the hardest impacted.

Additionally, wind and rain-related yellow severe weather warnings have been issued for Northern Ireland as well as the northern and eastern regions of England.

Transport Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) officials attended the Resilience Room meeting of the Scottish government on Wednesday night.

Shona Robison, the deputy for the first minister, said afterward: "Red warnings are seldom issued by the Met Office and this highlights how devastating the implications will be from the extreme weather we can anticipate - especially in the north east of Scotland in the next two days.

"The strong message is that if it's you in the parts of Angus as well as South Aberdeenshire affected - please stay at your place of residence and do not travel."

Between 10-15cm (4-6in) of rain is anticipated to fall very broadly throughout the warning period, with some regions perhaps seeing between 20-25cm (8-10in) of rain. The Met Office weather warning is in effect from 18:00 on Thursday to midday on Friday.

According to the red alert, widespread flooding and road closures are likely along with "danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater" across Aberdeenshire and Angus.

There could also be power outages, and some regions would be cut off for days, it is anticipated.

According to Sepa, Storm Babet was expected to deliver "unprecedented" amounts of rain and floods to Scotland's northeast, which would create "significant disruption" and pose a risk to human life.

Scotland's east has an amber rain warning from Storm Babet.

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On Thursday and Friday, amber warnings are still in effect for various areas of north-eastern Scotland and the Highlands, while yellow warnings are in effect for the majority of the nation until Saturday.

Heavy rains that triggered floods earlier this month are still wet in many of the impacted regions throughout the UK. According to reports, the flood was the worst since the 1890s.

Services on a few of lines in Scotland on Thursday and Friday have already been canceled by ScotRail.

These include the Tain-Wick/Thurso (Far North line), Perth-Aberdeen by means of Dundee, Perth-Aviemore (Highland main line), Perth-Dunblane, Aberdeen-Elgin (Aberdeen-Inverness line), plus Fife Circle services.

Additionally, services between Edinburgh Waverley and Aberdeen and Inverness as well as between Glasgow Queen Street and Aberdeen and Inverness would be impacted by the cancellations.

Police Scotland has meantime advised people to forgo all forms of transport while the red weather warning is in effect. Extremely hazardous driving conditions are anticipated, along with disruptions and lengthy waits.

Gale-force winds are anticipated to interrupt traffic, result in power outages, and create floods in Wales.

The Met Office dubbed Storm Babet on Monday morning, a complicated region of low pressure that formed to the west of the Iberian Peninsula.

The naming method was created to make it simpler for people to interact with weather predictions, and it is the second named storm of the 2023–24 season, which began in early September.

A red weather warning is what?

Of the three color-coded weather warnings offered by the Met Office, red is the most serious.

It indicates that potentially hazardous weather is predicted, so if you haven't already, you should take precautions to protect yourself and others from the effects of the severe weather.

There will very certainly be a danger to life, significant transport and energy supply disruptions, and maybe even significant infrastructure and property damage.

When at all possible, stay home and heed the advise of the emergency services and local authorities.

More information regarding the weather warning system may be found here.

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Every county in the Republic of Ireland has a rain warning in force tonight after it went into effect throughout Tuesday.

According to Tony Wardle, the deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, there will be heavy rain and extremely high gusts that may cause huge waves to approach certain eastern shores.

According to the Met Office, a red warning for high heat was last issued in the UK in July of last year.

The latest red rain alert for the UK was for Storm Dennis in South Wales in February 2020, and for Storm Desmond in Scotland in December 2015.

Due to the possibility of service disruptions from Storm Babet, ScotRail has advised passengers planning to travel on Thursday and Friday to check their routes in advance.

Transport Scotland's Stein Connelly stated: "This is looking like another period of extreme weather, which might create a danger to life. We just experienced some of the most severe weather in Scotland since the 1890s.

"People should make plans and prepare in advance. Travel only when absolutely necessary. If you do need to travel, be sure to check the weather before you go since these most recent severe weather warnings may have an impact on your trip.

"The advise is clear for individuals in Angus and south Aberdeenshire: do not travel while the red alert is in place. It's anticipated that the rain will create some pretty difficult circumstances.

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In addition, First Minister Humza Yousaf issued a travel advisory for the areas of Scotland under the red weather warning, advising against all but necessary travel.Please be cautious of the difficult weather we are expected to endure, he said in a message on X, previously known as Twitter.

"Weather warning has been increased to red for Angus and the northeast. Avoid traveling unless it is absolutely necessary.

He continued: "The Scottish government is working with local preparedness partners, especially our emergency services, to ensure we maintain everyone safe & minimize disruption as best we can."

According to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), certain regions, especially on eastern shores, might see gusts of up to 70 mph. According to the present prediction, the winds will be the fiercest on Thursday afternoon and into the early evening.

The energy company said that it was mobilizing extra workers to handle any network damage and ensuing issues.

Schools in the area will shut on Thursday at noon and on Friday as well, according to Angus Council.

Sandbags may be used by householders to assist safeguard houses, according to Aberdeenshire Council. On Wednesday, the local government was conducting a meeting on resilience.

The Queen's Bridge floodgates will be the only ones left open on Wednesday, according to Perth and Kinross Council.

The bridge will be closed to motorists and pedestrians on Thursday morning as the authorities announced these will be erected.

It won't reopen until the storm is over, but staff members from the council will be stationed at the gates to let any firms enter when it's safe to do so.

Prior to last month's severe rain and increasing water levels, the authority received criticism for taking too long to close the North Inch floodgates, which resulted in flooded homes and businesses.

The RNLI issued a warning that visitors to the coasts of the UK and Ireland should expect perilous conditions due to the forecasted high winds and heavy rain.

"The RNLI advises staying the appropriate distance away from the water as well as cliff edges as the conditions could knock you onto your feet or wash you into the sea," said RNLI water safety partner Sam Hughes. Risking your daily life is not worth it.