Yellow warning for thunderstorms and flash flooding issued for parts of the Highlands by the Met Office
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THUNDERSTORMS and localised torrential rain could hit parts of the Highlands on Sunday, the Met Office has warned.
A mass of warmer air will be pushing into the UK from the south into the weekend, sparking widespread storms in parts of England and Wales on Saturday, before pushing into much of Scotland on Sunday afternoon.
A yellow warning has been issued for the Highlands covering the period between midday on Sunday and 9pm the same day.
"Whilst many places will be largely dry, thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail are likely to develop in some places on Sunday afternoon," said a Met Office spokesman.
They continued: "High temperatures on Sunday will trigger a scattering of showers across the warning area, some of which are likely to be torrential and thundery, perhaps bringing a few places 30-40 mm in an hour.
"The odd place, affected by multiple showers, could see more than this, perhaps in excess of 60 mm in a few hours, this being most likely across Wales and central England.
"As well as rain, additional hazards will be hail, strong gusts of wind, and lightning will be additional hazards. Despite this, many places in the warning area will remain dry, or only see small amounts of rain, due to the scattered nature of the heaviest showers."
The area of the Highlands covered by the warning extends from Loch Eriboll and the Kyle of Tongue in the far north, southwards through much of Sutherland and Ross-shire, and on through the Great Glen and Cairngorms.
Met Office forecasters say that not everyone in the alert area will experience thunderstorms, but that the risk is heightened in those areas.
They've also cautioned that any rain which falls is unlikely to ease recent water scarcity issues in the region, with any rain falling onto very dry ground and then running straight into rivers rather than soaking into the earth.
This could result in localised flash flooding, and the Met Office has warned that "there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly".
Areas hit by the thunderstorms and rain could also experience travel disruption.
