Warning of floods and damage to buildings as heavy rain soaks parts of UK

Heavy rain is likely to cause flooding and disruption in parts of the UK, the Met Office has said. 

An amber warning is in place for parts of Scotland until 6pm, with the weather forecaster warning homes and businesses are likely to be flooded and some buildings may suffer damage as a result.

The warning is in place for parts of Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Highlands, Eilean Siar, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

South Wales, Somerset and parts of Devon and Dorset, where a yellow warning is coming into place at 8am, may see up to 20mm of rainfall during Thursday.

The Met Office said rain falling on saturated ground could lead to flooding and disruption.

The warning runs until 4pm on Thursday when the forecaster said the heaviest of the rain was clearing to the north east.

A further yellow warning for Northern Ireland is in place from 10am on Thursday for the rest of the day.

A yellow warning for rain which took effect on Wednesday last night and is due to stay in place until midnight on Friday is also in place for the central, Tayside and Fife regions, in the Grampian, the Highlands and Eilean Siar.

The Met Office said delays or cancellations to public transport were possible in the more affected areas, while some communities may be cut off.

Met Office chief forecaster Dan Harris said on Wednesday night: "Rain will turn increasingly persistent and heavy late on Wednesday and through much of Thursday for parts of Scotland, which has resulted in amber and yellow warnings for rain being issued.

"Within the amber warning area, some areas of high ground exposed to the strong southeasterly wind are likely to see in excess of 100 mm of rain, whilst 50-80 mm is more probable for many places within the broader yellow warning.

"This is expected to lead to flooding in some places, with some rivers taking longer to respond to the rainfall and could lead to ongoing impacts through Thursday."

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ScotRail has speed restrictions in place for its Perth to Inverness route until 9.30am on Saturday, and its Aberdeen to Inverness routes until 12pm on Friday.

Ferry operator CalMac has cancelled all Oban-Coll-Tiree services on Thursday and said some other services may be subject to cancellations or delays at short notice.

Restrictions were in place on the Forth Road Bridge on Thursday morning due to high winds, while drivers were advised to take caution on various crossings around Scotland.

(c) Sky News 2026: Warning of floods and damage to buildings as heavy rain soaks parts of UK